A Hard Row to Hoe: Farming on the Brazilian Amazon Frontier under Incomplete Property Rights

24 Pages Posted: 3 Sep 2008 Last revised: 9 May 2016

See all articles by Robert C. Tatum

Robert C. Tatum

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Asheville - Department of Economics

Date Written: September 2, 2008

Abstract

Many farmers in the Brazilian Amazon do not have clear titles to their land. Therefore, using an infinite-horizon representative agent model, this paper analyzes how improved property rights influence the farmer’s investment in the land, as well as the farmer’s consumption and debt. Three channels through which property rights affects these variables are identified through the analysis. Two involve the expenditure the farmer incurs to defend the land claim, and the third involves the interest rate premium the farmer faces when borrowing without a clear title to the land. Variants of the model allow for labor to defend the land claim and for endogenous property rights. The findings suggest a need and direction for further, empirical research, particularly with regard to informal institutional arrangements, measures of property rights, and the means by which they are defended.

Keywords: Agricultural investment, credit, property rights

JEL Classification: D23, K11, O13, Q15

Suggested Citation

Tatum, Robert C., A Hard Row to Hoe: Farming on the Brazilian Amazon Frontier under Incomplete Property Rights (September 2, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1262490 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1262490

Robert C. Tatum (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Asheville - Department of Economics ( email )

Asheville, NC 28804
United States
828.251.6569 (Phone)

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