Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP5184
Authors: Hans Gersbach; Lars Siemers
Abstract: We demonstrate that there is a nexus between land transfers and human capital formation. A sequence of land redistributions enables the beneficiaries to educate their children and thus to escape from poverty and to overcome child labour. We find that open access to land markets should be prohibited for beneficiaries for some time. Moreover, a temporary state of inequality among the poor is unavoidable. Finally, a successful land reform allows for the transition of a society from an agriculture-based state of poverty to a human capital-based developed economy.
Keywords: land market access; land reforms; migration; poverty; transition
JEL Codes: I28; I38; O11; O15; Q15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| land reforms (Q15) | human capital formation (J24) |
| land transfers (Q15) | investment in children's education (I21) |
| investment in children's education (I21) | reduction in poverty (I32) |
| investment in children's education (I21) | reduction in child labor (J88) |
| land transfers (Q15) | human capital formation (J24) |
| land reforms (Q15) | economic development (O29) |
| open access to land markets (Q15) | decline in human capital formation (J24) |