Agricultural Modernization and Land Conflict

Michele Rosenberg and Stefano Falcone

No 1314, Working Papers from Barcelona School of Economics

Abstract: Modernization of production in the agricultural sector is a critical driver of economic development. However, it can generate conflictual claims on previously uncontested land. This paper shows that the expansion of commercial farming induced by a market-oriented reform and technological innovation increased land conflict since the mid-1990s in Brazil. We find mechanisms involving the decline of economic opportunities for the rural poor: the reduction of informally accessible land for traditional farmers, the loss of employment for rural workers and the rise in land inequality. Moreover, suggestive evidence indicates that agricultural modernization strengthened the landless movement's political incentive to engage in land disputes.

Keywords: land conflict; agricultural investments; tenure rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 J43 O13 P14 P16 Q15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-dev
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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