The Underlying Assumptions, Theory, and Practice of Neoliberal Land Policies
September 05, 2005
In the early 1990s, neoliberal land policies emerged within, and became an important aspect of, mainstream thinking and development policy agendas. These policies have increased in prevalence since their inception at the end of the Cold War. Neoliberal land policies emerge from a pro-market critique of conventional (generally state-directed) land policies. Using various experiences from different countries, it is argued here that the pro-market critique of conventional land reforms is theoretically flawed and is unsupported by empirical evidence, and that initial outcomes of pro-market land policies show that they do not significantly reform pre-existing agrarian structures in favour of the rural poor.
Introduction
In the early 1990s, neoliberal land policies emerged within, and became an important aspect of, mainstream thinking and development policy agendas. These policies have increased in prevalence since their inception at the end of the Cold War. They deal with both public and private lands, and have manifested in four broad policy types: i) privatization and individualization of public/communal lands, ii) privatization and individualization of property rights in state and collective farms in (ex-)socialist and capitalist settings, iii) promotion of land rental markets, and iv) land sales. These policies have been formulated by broadly pro-market scholars and policymakers, and have been aggressively promoted by the World Bank and other international development institutions as the solution to persistent landlessness and poverty in the countryside of most developing countries.
Neoliberal land policies emerge from a pro-market critique of conventional (generally state-directed) land policies. To understand better the land reform debate today, we need to understand this critique because it provides the theoretical foundation of neoliberal land policies. Using various experiences from different countries, it is argued here that the pro-market critique of conventional land reforms is theoretically flawed and is unsupported by empirical evidence, and that initial outcomes of pro-market land policies show that they do not significantly reform pre-existing agrarian structures in favour of the rural poor. While general reference is made regarding the mainstream policies pertaining to public/communal lands and state/collective farms, the bulk of the discussion in this chapter will be on policies concerning private lands. This chapter is organized as follows: Section 2 provides an overview of the changing global context for land reform, while Section 3 presents the pro-market critique of conventional land policies. Section 4 critically examines the pro-market critique and policy models, both conceptually and empirically. Section 5 provides short concluding remarks.
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The Underlying Assumptions, Theory, and Practice of Neoliberal Land Policies
26-page Word document
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