Retreat from Equality or Advance towards Efficiency? Land Markets and Inequality in Rural Zhejiang

2008 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 535-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Forrest Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Land Markets ◽  
Income Generation ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Land Distribution ◽  
Market Opportunities

AbstractBased on a 2001 survey, this study finds increased disparities in land distribution in rural Zhejiang. Regression analyses yield three main findings. First, increased disparities in land distribution are associated with growth of land markets. Second, rural households who acquired land through markets significantly increased their farm income. Land markets thus gave rise to a new venue of income generation and increased inequality in farm income. Widening disparities in land rights and farm income, however, did not constitute a further retreat from equality, but instead had compensatory effects on overall inequality, as land markets brought up families who would have fallen at the lower end of income distribution in the absence of such markets. Third, land markets increased efficiency in farming, as households who acquired land were using it more productively. In rural Zhejiang, growth of land markets broadened access to market opportunities and enhanced both efficiency and equity.

The Living Conditions and Social Mobility of Rural Households in Yanshan County, Hebei, 1900–1950

Rural China ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-313
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Guo (郭志炜)
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Economic Condition ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Land Distribution ◽  
Class Background ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Per Capita

Abstract An analysis of the Class Background Registers of Yanshan county, Hebei, shows that households of landlord and rich peasant status accounted for less than 10 percent of the local population and possessed less than 15 percent of the land, while households of poor and lower-middle peasant standing owned about half of the land. Overall, land distribution was relatively balanced, as seen in the Gini coefficient of 0.3–0.4 in the distribution of land rights and the fact that about half of the households owned 2–5 mu of land per capita. But the economic condition of the rural population was not determined by the factor of land distribution alone; in places where the natural endowment was poor, off-farm income-making activities mattered a great deal to local residents. Such activities took various forms, which could improve as well as worsen people’s livelihood. An analysis of social mobility in this area further shows the perpetuation of the existing class structure. Those whose grandparents had lived in poverty found it difficult to move up socially. On the whole, the rural area under study shows a prolonged trend of deterioration, which is meaningful for understanding the land reform.

Intra-Family and Socio-Political Dimensions of Land Markets and Land Conflicts: The Case of the Abure, Côte d'Ivoire

Africa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges Kouamé
Keyword(s):  
Cote D'ivoire ◽  
Côte D’Ivoire ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Land Markets ◽  
Cote D’Ivoire ◽  
Land Conflicts ◽  
Côte D'ivoire ◽  
Community Conflict ◽  
Family Land ◽  
Intra Family

This article is a contribution to reflection on the question of land markets in Africa. Based on a case study of Abure society (Côte d'Ivoire), the article emphasizes, first, the relation between the intra-family dimension of land rights and the functioning of the land lease market. Particular attention is paid to intra-family land tensions induced by the land lease market, and their repercussions in the form of inter-community conflict reflecting the ethnic-national basis of the land lease market (with autochthonous Abure lessors and Burkinabe tenants). Second, emphasis is placed on the socio-political dimension of land tenancy relationships. The article is based on a deciphering of the land rights and land tenure practices within Abure family groups, and of a 2001 conflict which set Abure young men against Burkinabe pineapple growers. Beyond the inter-community conflict surrounding land, the article reveals an intergenerational conflict within Abure society itself between social juniors and the elders who manage family land, regarding the delegation of rights to lease out family land and the distribution of land lease (rental) income.

scholarly journals The Effect of the Comprehensive Rural Village Development Program on Farm Income in South Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6877
Author(s):  
Eunji Choi ◽  
Jonghoon Park ◽  
Seongwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Rural Village ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact

Faced with an aging and declining population, many governments around the world endeavor to revitalize their rural communities in a sustainable manner. In South Korea, the Comprehensive Rural Village Development Program (CRVDP) was carried out from 2004 to 2013 as a key strategy to reinvigorate rural areas. This study aims to conduct an ex-post quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the CRVDP in boosting rural households’ farm income. In doing so, the present study adopts quasi-experimental research design that is seldom utilized in assessing rural policies. As an alternative evaluation tool with flexibility for using readily available data, the study employed the combined application of the Heckman selection model and the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method. The study revealed a significant positive impact of the Program on farm income of rural households in the program-supported areas from both cross-sectional and longitudinal perspectives. A robust causal estimation of the impact of this bottom-up, multi-sectoral rural development program on farm income is achieved, which can be leveraged to widely promote similar type of rural development approach.

Fractured Governance and Local Frictions: The Exclusionary Nature of a Clandestine Land Market in Southern Zambia

Africa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Sitko
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Land Market ◽  
Land Markets ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Land Administration ◽  
The Social ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Rural Zambia

This article explores the ways in which efforts to expand private land tenure, coupled with the continued centrality of customary land administration in Zambia, produce a fractured system of land governance in which localized markets for land emerge but are forced to operate in a clandestine manner. Using ethnographic and archival data sources, I argue that despite the historical and contemporary relationship between land rights and economic ‘development’, the clandestine nature of land markets in rural Zambia tends to (re)produce many of the social ills that ‘development’ seeks to resolve. Using a case study of a clandestine market for land in a Tonga-speaking region of southern Zambia, this article shows how these markets undermine women's rights to land, while allowing for the consolidation of wealth and power in the hands of a few.

scholarly journals A Quest for Livelihood Sustainability? Patterns, Motives and Determinants of Non-Farm Income Diversification among Agricultural Households in Punjab, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9084
Author(s):  
Muhammad Amjed Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Rizwan ◽  
Azhar Abbas ◽  
Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum ◽  
Rakhshanda Kousar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Income Generation ◽  
Income Diversification ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
Agricultural Households

Many farmers worldwide resort to choosing various income-earning options for diversifying their income sources as a means of risk-avoidance, social protection, and, above all, to finance agricultural operations. Non-farm income generation among farm families has become an imperative part of livelihood earning strategies in recent years amid fast-evolving climatic and sociodemographic changes. In this regard, this study seeks to identify the patterns and socioeconomic factors responsible for the uptake of various non-farm income diversification sources among agricultural households in southern Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, a total of 290 farm households were sampled using a random sampling technique to collect relevant data through structured questionnaires. Results show that approximately 79% of the surveyed farmers were involved in non-farm income generation activities, whereas, the income from these sources accounts for about 15% of total household income. The majority of the respondents offered labour for off-farm work followed by self-employment ventures. The major reason to pursue non-farm work includes low income from agriculture, mitigating risks associated with farming, and acquiring funds to finance farming operations, along with the desire to increase family income. A range of socioeconomic and infrastructure-related variables are associated with the decision to participate in specific off-farm activity, such as age, education, family size, farm income, dependency burden, farming experience, and distance to the main city. Results imply the provision of technical support to increase livelihood from farming operations to ensure food security and curb rural-urban migration. However, vocational training can enhance the rural inhabitants’ skillset to diversify on the farm through agribusiness development within rural areas, enabling them to employ local people instead of populating urban centres.

scholarly journals Mitigation of land scarcity situation through tenure practices: a study on two selected villages in Jashore district of Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-169
Author(s):  
AK Ghosh ◽  
MHK Sujan
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Rural Land ◽  
Land Distribution ◽  
Rural Farmers ◽  
Land Scarcity ◽  
Land Tenancy ◽  
Land Transaction ◽  
Cultivable Land

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries with immense pressure on agricultural land in rural areas. Mainstream of the rural households depend on either agriculture or its associated activities for their livelihood. However, rural land distribution is highly skewed, majority of them are landless. Under such a land scarce situation, farmers in rural areas have been gradually inclining towards land tenancy. Present study steered to explore the nature and volume of temporary land transaction through tenancy agreement in studied areas and to scrutinize its role in aligning land distribution. In 2017, a total of 166 farmers were randomly selected from two different villages in Jashore district for study. Result of the study administrated that land tenancy practice has been significantly mitigating land disparity among rural farmers. Study also explored that comparatively rich farmers are leaning towards tenant out land and most of these lands tenanted in by the landless and marginal farmers. Consequently, on an average landless farm could significantly increases their cultivable land from 0.01 acre to 0.98 acre compared to the marginal farm 0.31 to 0.73 acres. At the same time, cultivable land of medium farm has decreased as of 3.74 acres to 2.83 acres in studied villages. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(2): 164-169, December 2020

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