Untitled Land, Occupational Choice, and Agricultural Productivity
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
vol. 9,
no. 4, October 2017
(pp. 91-121)
Abstract
The prevalence of untitled land in poor countries helps explain the international agricultural productivity differences. Since untitled land cannot be traded across farmers, it creates land misallocation and distorts individuals' occupational choice between farming and working outside agriculture. I build a two-sector general equilibrium model to quantify the impact of untitled land. I find that economies with higher percentages of untitled land would have lower agricultural productivity; land titling can increase agricultural productivity by up to 82.5 percent. About 42 percent of this gain is due to eliminating land misallocation, and the remaining is due to eliminating distortions in individuals' occupational choice.Citation
Chen, Chaoran. 2017. "Untitled Land, Occupational Choice, and Agricultural Productivity." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 9 (4): 91-121. DOI: 10.1257/mac.20140171Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J43 Agricultural Labor Markets
- O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
- P14 Capitalist Systems: Property Rights
- Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
- Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
- Q24 Renewable Resources and Conservation: Land
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