Securing property rights in transition: Lessons from implementation of China's rural land contracting law

Klaus Deininger and Songqing Jin

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2009, vol. 70, issue 1-2, 22-38

Abstract: Motivated by the emphasisis on secure property rights as a determinant of economic development in recent literature, we use village- and household-level information from about 800 villages throughout China to explore whether legal reform increased protection of land rights against unauthorized reallocation or expropriation with below-average compensation by the state. In addition to providing nation-wide evidence on a sensitive topic, we find positive impacts, equivalent increasing land values by 30 percent, of reform even in the short term that originated in villages where democratic election of leaders ensured a minimum level of accountability, pointing towards complementarity between good governance and legal reform. Implications for situations where individuals and groups hold overlapping rights to land are explored.

Keywords: Property; rights; Tenure; security; Legal; change; Governance; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (74)

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Working Paper: Securing property rights in transition: Lessons from implementation of China's rural land contracting law (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:70:y:2009:i:1-2:p:22-38

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