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Property rights and economic development: the legacy of Japanese colonial institutions

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  • YOO, DONGWOO
  • STECKEL, RICHARD H.

Abstract

Several studies link development to institutions transplanted by European colonizers and here we extend this line of research to Asia. Japan imposed its system of well-defined property rights on some of its Asian colonies. In 1939, Japan began to register private land in its island colonies, an effort that was completed in Palau but interrupted elsewhere by World War II. Within Micronesia, robust economic development followed only in Palau where individual property rights were well defined. We show that well-defined property rights in Korea and Taiwan secured land taxation and enabled farmers to obtain bank loans for irrigation systems. Considering Japanese colonies, we use the presence or absence of a land survey as an instrument to identify the causal impact of new institutions. Our estimates show that property-defining institutions were important for economic development, results that are confirmed when using a similar approach with British Colonies in Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoo, Dongwoo & Steckel, Richard H., 2016. "Property rights and economic development: the legacy of Japanese colonial institutions," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 623-650, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:12:y:2016:i:03:p:623-650_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Ilia Murtazashvili & Jennifer Murtazashvili, 2019. "The political economy of legal titling," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 251-268, September.
    2. Franklin Obeng-Odoom, 2018. "Valuing unregistered urban land in Indonesia," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 315-340, December.
    3. Pitlik, Hans & Rode, Martin, 2017. "Individualistic values, institutional trust, and interventionist attitudes," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 575-598, September.
    4. Marina Nistotskaya & Michelle D'Arcy, 2021. "No taxation without property rights: Formalization of property rights on land and tax revenues from individuals in sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-175, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Frolov, Daniil, 2021. "Transplantation of economic institutions: a post-institutional theory (expanded version)," MPRA Paper 108707, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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