Redistributive land reforms, condition for success

Details

Supervisors

Defraigne, Jean-Christophe

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences économiques, orientation générale

Abstract

This thesis investigates the redistributive land reforms in South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and the Philippines, and more particularly the factors that led to their success or their failure. We conduct the analysis from an historical perspective, applying the path dependence theory. We find that the late colonial past of each country plays a significant role in determining their subsequent land experiences. We then investigate the level of state autonomy in each country, and find that an autonomous state is a necessary condition for the good implementation of land reform but is not a sufficient one. We finally emphasize country-specific factors that influenced the outcomes of the reforms in the four countries.