Resource information
While scholars agree on the importance
of land rental markets for structural transformation in
rural areas, evidence on the extent and nature of their
operation, including potential obstacles to their improved
functioning, remains limited. This study uses
household-level data from six countries to start filling
this gap and derive substantive as well as methodological
lessons. The paper finds that rental markets transfer land
to land-poor, labor-rich, and more productive producers
throughout. But vast cross-country variation in transfers
and the fact that female managers could possibly improve
their income by leasing out land point towards barriers to
participation that policy might address. Methodological and
substantive conclusions are derived.
