A theoretical analysis of equilibrium contracts between risk neutral landlords and tenants when tenants' soil exploitation is non-contractible indicates that landlords will overinvest in conservation structures. An empirical model using farm-level data provides evidence that investment in contractible soil conservation measures is greater on rental land.

Farmers' ability to leave agriculture is an important and debated topic in China and other countries. Many scholars believe China's unique land tenure policies prevent farmers from leaving agriculture. This paper examines the hypothesis that China's land tenure system deters exit from agriculture using household level data from Northeast China.

There is widespread concern among environmental and agricultural interest that land use change will affect the future productivity of the agricultural industry by utilizing highly productive land for development. This paper considers the links between land use change and crop choices in order to analyze whether land use change is influencing crop choices. In order to account for potential endogeneity between crop choices and land use choices, we develop a Markov Model that allows us to capture potential endogeneity between these two choices (land use and crop choice).

The condition of the market for of lands of agricultural purpose in modern Russia is analyzed and the complex of actions for economic prerequisites creation for activization of farm land rotation is offered. The state has to undertake urgently measures to increase the control not only over intended use of lands and their involvement in an agricultural rotation, but also over agriculture rationality. The international experience shows the active usage of land resources as pledge. Removal of obstacles of pledge transactions development is also needed in Russia.

Following the example of Tiffen et al. on Machakos, Kenya, new macro-based evidence was collected in Machakos, the neighbouring Kitui district and in Benin, Cameroon and the Philippines, to assess the factors à la Boserup, inducing transitions towards sustainable land management, such as terracing, stone bands etc. We find that relative scarcity of land can be seen to induce technical changes, in the sense of Hayami & Ruttan, that correspond to the new
relative scarcity, making higher man-land ratios the optimal choice.

This paper tries to provide some solutions regarding farm consolidation and to diminish the share of subsistence farming, by analysing demographic tendencies, the ownership structure of agricultural land and the structure of the rural workforce, in Romania. The emphasis will fall on the following main solutions: the withdrawal of agricultural pensioners from the agricultural activity in return for an additional pension (before 2007) and the application of the early retirement scheme after joining the EU (probably in 2007).

The world-wide trend of a growing organic sector is also detectable in South Africa. From 2000 to 2002 the number of farmers who had converted to organic farming in South Africa increased sixfold, and although organic farming still accounts only for a minute percentage of the total number agricultural producers, the increasing importance of this sector is apparent. Based on survey results, information was gathered about organic farmers in South Africa concerning socio-demographic aspects, farming operations, motivations and problems of the conversion process.

Middlemen are largely absent from the literature and policymaking on land deals. Based on qualitative evidence from India, this paper shows a highly organised field of aggregators, brokers, touts, musclemen and others permeating the land economy. Biographical accounts provide glimpses of everyday work, career and aspirations. A high-definition narrative of middlemen as middlemen allows a shift away from instrumental analyses of bridges in global capitalist accumulation.

Land development in the United States is following two routes: expansion of urban areas and large-lot development (greater than 1 acre per house) in rural areas. Urban

Land reform started in Ukraine 14 years ago became one of the most important issues in transformation of large state agricultural enterprises into market oriented agricultural enterprises. Significant changes in land use and land ownership has happened as a result of land reform implementation in Ukraine. Namely, state monopoly on land was eliminated, agricultural land was privatized, citizens of Ukraine received land plots in possession, first land transactions have happened at agricultural land market etc.

Woody plant encroachment restricts forage production and capacity to produce grazing livestock. Biophysical plant growth simulation and economic simulation were used to evaluate a prescribed burning range management technique. Modeling systems incorporated management practices and costs, historical climate data, vegetation and soil inventories, livestock production data, and historical regional livestock prices. The process compared baseline non-treatment return estimates to expected change in livestock returns resulting from prescribed burning.