Seminar by- Prasad S. Bhattacharya, Deakin University , 6th December, 2016 (Tuesday) at 3:00 PM

 The Political Economy of Land Reform Enactment and Implementation: New Cross-National Evidence (1900-2010). 

by

Prasad S. Bhattacharya,
Deakin University

On

6th December, 2016 (Tuesday) at 3:00 PM

Venue : Seminar Room (First Floor)
Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics

All are cordially invited

Abstract

Constructing a unique, extensive dataset that codifies the enactment and implementation of 301 major land reforms around the world (155 countries) during the period 1900-2010, this paper investigates the main political-economy determinants of land reform initiatives and their implementations. We find that both transitions into and out of democracy are associated positively with land reform enactments and their implementation, with some evidence that these effects take place with a time lag. However, the evidence in favor of the positive effects of transition into a democratic form of government is particularly strong and robust. Also, the number of reforms already enacted and implemented has a negative impact on the likelihood of further reforms and their implementation. These results qualitatively go through even when we restrict the focus on just the pro-poor land reforms or other specific categories of land reforms. Reform and implementation probabilities are also positively associated with initial land inequality, with a positive interaction with transition to a more autocratic regime. Finally, we find that a one-step leftward movement in the political ideology of the nations chief executive (from right to center or center to left) is associated with a greater likelihood of land reforms and their subsequent implementations.