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Property Rights, Labor Markets, and Efficiency in a Transition Economy: The Case of Rural China

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Dwayne Benjamin
Loren Brandt

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Abstract

This paper investigates the consequences of imperfect and uneven factor market development for farm efficiency in rural China. In particular, we estimate the extent to which an inverse relationship in farm productivity can be attributed to the administrative (instead of market) allocation of land, and the extent of unevenly developed non-agricultural opportunities. Using a recently collected household survey, we show that a considerable amount of inefficiency exists in the countryside, especially in the employment of labor. Our results show that this inefficiency is alleviated by the development of external labor markets, but perhaps more surprisingly, that in the context of the current imperfect market environment, administrative reallocations help improve both efficiency and equity on the margin. They do not go far enough, however, which raises important questions about constraints on rental activity and the link between administrative reallocation and decentralized land exchange.

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Paper provided by University of Toronto, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number benjamin-00-02.

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Length: 48 pages
Date of creation: 11 Apr 2000
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Handle: RePEc:tor:tecipa:benjamin-00-02

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
J43 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Agricultural Labor Markets
Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation
O12 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Carter, Michael R, 1984. "Identification of the Inverse Relationship between Farm Size and Productivity: An Empirical Analysis of Peasant Agricultural Production," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(1), pages 131-45, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bhalla, Surjit S., 1988. "Does land quality matter? : Theory and measurement," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 45-62, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Benjamin, Dwayne & Brandt, Loren, 1997. "Land, Factor Markets, and Inequality in Rural China: Historical Evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 460-494, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Benjamin, Dwayne, 1992. "Household Composition, Labor Markets, and Labor Demand: Testing for Separation in Agricultural Household Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(2), pages 287-322, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Lin, Justin Yifu, 1992. "Rural Reforms and Agricultural Growth in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(1), pages 34-51, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Benjamin, Dwayne, 1995. "Can unobserved land quality explain the inverse productivity relationship?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 51-84, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Udry, Christopher, 1996. "Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 1010-46, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Dwayne Benjamin & Loren Brandt & Paul Glewwe & Li Guo, 2000. "Markets, Human Capital, and Inequality: Evidence from Rural China," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 298, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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  9. John C. Ham & Kevin T. Reilly, 2002. "Testing Intertemporal Substitution, Implicit Contracts, and Hours Restriction Models of the Labor Market Using Micro Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 905-927, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alan de Brauw, 2002. "Are Women Taking over the Farm in China?," Department of Economics Working Papers 199, Department of Economics, Williams College. [Downloadable!]
  2. Seshan, Ganesh, 2005. "The impact of trade liberalization on household welfare in vietnam," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3541, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  3. Dwayne Benjamin & Loren Brandt & John Giles, 2004. "The Evolution of Income Inequality in Rural China," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2004-654, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Dwayne Benjamin & Loren Brandt & Jia-Zhueng Fan, 2003. "Ceaseless Toil? Health and Labor Supply of the Elderly in Rural China," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-579, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Ravallion, Martin & Van der Walle, Dominique, 2003. "Land allocation in Vietnam's agrarian transition," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2951, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  6. Hanan G. Jacoby & Guo Li & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "Hazards of Expropriation: Tenure Insecurity and Investment in Rural China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1420-1447, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Alan de Brauw & John Giles, 2006. "Migrant Opportunity and the Educational Attainment of Youth in Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 2326, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Deininger, Klaus & Songqing Jin, 2002. "Land rental markets as an alternative to government reallocation? equity and efficiency considerations in the Chinese land tenure system," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2930, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Guo Li & Scott Rozelle & Jikun Huang, 2000. "Land Rights, Farmer Investment Incentives, and Agricultural Production in China," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Davis, Working Paper Series 1033, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Davis. [Downloadable!]
  10. Qian, Nancy, 2006. "Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance," CEPR Discussion Papers 5986, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Karen Macours & Alain de Janvry & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2004. "Insecurity of Property Rights and Matching in the Tenancy Market," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series 992, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley. [Downloadable!]
  12. Jin, Songqing & Deininger, Klaus, 2007. "Land rental markets in the process of rural structural trans formation : productivity and equity impacts in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4454, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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