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The Cost of Property Rights: Establishing Institutions on the Philippine Frontier Under American Rule, 1898-1918

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Author Info
Lakshmi Iyer () (Harvard Business School, Business, Government and the International Economy Unit)
Noel Maurer () (Harvard Business School, Business, Government and the International Economy Unit)

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Abstract

We examine three reforms to property rights introduced by the United States in the Philippines in the early 20th century: the redistribution of large estates to their tenants, the creation of a system of secure land titles, and a homestead program to encourage cultivation of public lands. During the first phase of American occupation (1898-1918), we find that the implementation of these reforms was very slow. As a consequence, tenure insecurity increased over this period, and the distribution of farm sizes remained extremely unequal. We identify two primary causes for the slow progress of reform. The first was the high cost of implementing these programs, together with political constraints which prevented the government from subsidizing land reforms to a greater degree. The second was the reluctance of the government to evict delinquent or informal cultivators, especially on public lands, which reduced the costs of tenure insecurity.

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Paper provided by Harvard Business School in its series Harvard Business School Working Papers with number 09-023.

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Length: 50 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2008
Date of revision: Apr 2009
Handle: RePEc:hbs:wpaper:09-023

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  1. Jeon, Yoong-Deok & Kim, Young-Yong, 2000. "Land Reform, Income Redistribution, and Agricultural Production in Korea," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 253-68, January.
  2. Clay, Karen B., 1999. "Property Rights and Institutions: Congress and the California Land Act 1851," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(01), pages 122-142, March. [Downloadable!]
  3. Lee, Eddy, 1979. "Egalitarian peasant farming and rural development: The case of South Korea," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 7(4-5), pages 493-517. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Bautista, Eulito U. & Javier, Evelyn F., 2005. "The Evolution of Rice Production Practices," Discussion Papers DP 2005-14, Philippine Institute for Development Studies. [Downloadable!]
  5. Quy-Toan Do & Lakshmi Iyer, 2008. "Land Titling and Rural Transition in Vietnam," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56, pages 531-579. [Downloadable!]
  6. Daniel Berkowitz & Karen Clay, 2003. "Initial Conditions, Institutional Dynamics and Economic Performance: Evidence from the American States," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-615, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Haber, Stephen & Maurer, Noel & Razo, Armando, 2003. "When the Law Does Not Matter: The Rise and Decline of the Mexican Oil Industry," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(01), pages 1-32, March. [Downloadable!]
  8. Berkowitz, Daniel & Pistor, Katharina & Richard, Jean-Francois, 2003. "Economic development, legality, and the transplant effect," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 165-195, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2000. "Land Reform, Poverty Reduction, And Growth: Evidence From India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 115(2), pages 389-430, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Sebastian Galiani & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2005. "Property Rights for the Poor: Effects of Land Titling," Business School Working Papers proprightspoor, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. [Downloadable!]
  11. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Paul J. Gertler & Maitreesh Ghatak, 2002. "Empowerment and Efficiency: Tenancy Reform in West Bengal," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(2), pages 239-280, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Croix, Sumner J. La & Roumasset, James, 1990. "The Evolution of Private Property in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(04), pages 829-852, December. [Downloadable!]
  13. Binswanger, Hans P. & Deininger, Klaus & Feder, Gershon, 1995. "Power, distortions, revolt and reform in agricultural land relations," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery† & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 42, pages 2659-2772 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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