Pathways to Prosperity: Land Reform Playbook is part of a series of “Prosperity Playbooks” that share lessons on how people have made their societies more open and prosperous. The first playbook focuses on democracy and this second playbook on how land reforms in some countries can contribute to more open and inclusive societies. Its goal is to share knowledge about land reforms with people committed to seeking the prosperity of their societies.

The series of Prosperity Playbooks focuses on policies that create greater political and economic access for marginalised groups. This Prosperity Playbook analyses land reform because, in some low and middle-income countries, land continues to be one of the assets that most impact the lives of the poor. Moreover, agriculture employs a substantial number of workers in these countries and is intricately linked to the large ‘informal’ sector. By contrast, in highly urbanised countries, a focus on land reform is less relevant to prosperity, and educational access policies are key drivers of upward mobility and prosperity.

In countries with a large population employed in agriculture, if ‘informal’ agricultural workers can improve their livelihoods by securing access to land and property rights, they can gain a greater political voice and better afford to educate their children to succeed economically. A weak system of land property rights, a state that is not trusted by large groups of society, and low economic productivity are key factors in explaining the large size of the ‘informal” economy.

This report reviews how five countries introduced land reforms. In Korea and Portugal, reforms of property rights contributed to these countries’ successful transition from dictatorship to full liberal democracy. In the other three countries—Peru, Chile, and South Africa—land reform was not as comprehensive or well implemented. Partly as a result, these countries may have found it more difficult to transition to a full liberal democracy.

The report notes that successful land reforms can play a vital role in transitions to full liberal democracy in some countries because they weaken the political power of traditional elites that block reforms to ‘rent-seeking’, as in Korea and Portugal. These land reforms increased the political power of previously marginalised groups, low-income groups, and rural farmers, contributing to greater equality of access to political power.

Authors:
Prof. Michael Albertus
Carlos Montes
Stephen Brien