There Will Be Killing: Collectivization and Death of Draft Animals

Shuo Chen and Xiaohuan Lan

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2017, vol. 9, issue 4, 58-77

Abstract: The elimination of private property rights can lead to ineffcient use of productive assets. In China's collectivization movement from 1955 to 1957, instead of transferring draft animals to the ownership of the collectives, peasants slaughtered them to keep the meat and hide. By comparing 1,600 counties that launched the movement in different years, the difference-in-differences estimates suggest that the animal loss during the movement was 12 to 15 percent, or 7.4-9.5 million head. Grain output dropped by 7 percent due to lower animal inputs and lower productivity.

JEL-codes: N45 N55 O13 P26 P32 Q11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20160247
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