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Shaping inequality? Property rights, landed elites and public lands in Colombia

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  • Juan David Torres

Abstract

How does the enforcement of property rights affects land accumulation by landed elites? Using a unique classification of the local agricultural workforce and a differencein- difference framework I show how landed elites, relative to landless peasants, benefited from Colombian land reform during the late 1930s through the appropriation of large land allocations. This is explained by a feature of the reform: lower enforcement of property rights, which reduced the costs of further accumulation. I provide evidence on the elite investments in de facto political power that drive this empowerment: competition for resources in local elections and collective action embodied in landowner associations. This, in a context of tension between good-intended progressive policies and a general process of collective action pushed forward by landowners toward the defense of property, in which commitments for targeted democratization of land were hardly accomplished. My findings shed light on a possible equilibrium between democracy and high inequality in which economic elites exploit institutional features empowering themselves to preserve certainty regarding their own property rights.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan David Torres, 2022. "Shaping inequality? Property rights, landed elites and public lands in Colombia," Documentos CEDE 20514, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
  • Handle: RePEc:col:000089:020514
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    Cited by:

    1. Valencia Caicedo, Felipe & Eslava Saenz, Francisco, 2023. "Origins of Latin American Inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 18263, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land reform; property rights; public land allocations; landed elites; collective action;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • N56 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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