IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/easeco/v51y2025i2d10.1057_s41302-025-00295-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Land Redistribution and Agricultural Frontier Expansion

Author

Listed:
  • Adam G. Walke

    (Denison University)

  • Edward B. Barbier

    (Colorado State University)

Abstract

In developing countries, especially in Latin America, two separate approaches to providing land to farmers have been widely implemented: (1) opening state-owned frontier areas to settlement, which potentially increases deforestation, and (2) redistributing existing farmland. This paper argues that, in some contexts, land redistribution might act as a substitute for agricultural frontier expansion. A theoretical model is developed, which demonstrates that factors discouraging frontier settlement make the redistribution of already cultivated farmland more likely. An empirical analysis of Mexico suggests that the creation of institutional impediments to deforestation on the frontier increases the probability of land redistribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam G. Walke & Edward B. Barbier, 2025. "Land Redistribution and Agricultural Frontier Expansion," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 51(2), pages 165-197, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:easeco:v:51:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1057_s41302-025-00295-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41302-025-00295-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41302-025-00295-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41302-025-00295-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land reform; Latin America; Agricultural frontier; Deforestation; Protected areas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:easeco:v:51:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1057_s41302-025-00295-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.