Property Rights, Land Misallocation and Agricultural Efficiency in China
This paper examines the impact of a property rights reform in rural China that allowed farmers to lease out their land. We find the reform led to increases in land rental activity in rural households. Consistent with a model of transaction costs in land markets, our results indicate that the formalization of leasing rights resulted in a redistribution of land toward more productive farmers. Consequently, the aggregate productivity of land increased significantly. We also find that the reform increased the responsiveness of land allocation across crops to changes in crop prices.
Published Versions
Amalavoyal Chari & Elaine M Liu & Shing-Yi Wang & Yongxiang Wang & Uta Schoenberg, 2021. "Property Rights, Land Misallocation, and Agricultural Efficiency in China," The Review of Economic Studies, vol 88(4), pages 1831-1862. citation courtesy of 
Related
Programs
More from NBER
In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals — the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Retirement and Disability, the Bulletin on Health, and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship — as well as online conference reports, video lectures, and interviews.
