Land structure and agrarian reform in Brazil

ABSTRACT

This paper is an attempt to analise land ownership patterns in Brazil and their relation to economic variables such as production, productivity, land use, and profitability. Some conclusions and derived with respect to the implementation of the land reform program and its effects on the economic aspects of the Brazilian agricultural sector. The main conclusions are: a) from an economic point of view ‘land should be treated on equal terms with any other factor of production; b) there is no evidence as to land being extensively used with speculative purposes; e) no significant change has been occurring in regard to the heavily concentrated land ownership pattern observed in Brazil; d) no significant differences were observed among different size-group of farms with respect to economic efficiency (partial productivity differences are explained by differences in factor availability and reflect proper resource allocation behavior by farmers); e) land-reform in Brazil, such as proposed by the government, is not the correct policy to promote agricultural growth and development.

KEYWORDS:
Land reform; land structure; agricultural productivity