Jin, SongqingDeininger, Klaus2012-06-082012-06-082007-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7545This paper is motivated by the emphasis on secure property rights as a determinant of economic development in recent literature. The authors use village and household level information from about 800 villages throughout China to explore whether legal reform increased protection of land rights against unauthorized reallocation or expropriation with below-average compensation by the state. The analysis provides nation-wide evidence on a sensitive topic. The authors find positive impacts, equivalent to increasing land values by 30 percent, of reform even in the short term. Reform originated in villages where democratic election of leaders ensured a minimum level of accountability, pointing toward complementarity between good governance and legal reform. The paper explores the implications for situations where individuals and groups hold overlapping rights to land.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO LANDADMINISTRATIVE RECORDSAGENTSAGRARIAN REFORMAGRICULTURAL LANDAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITYAGRICULTUREALLOCATIONAPPROPRIATIONBANK CREDITBANK LOANSBUREAUCRACYCAPITAL ACCUMULATIONCAPITALISMCLIMATECOLLATERALCOMPENSATIONCOOPERATIVESCORPORATIONCORRUPTIONDEMOCRACYDEVELOPED LANDDEVELOPERSDISCOUNT RATEDISCRIMINATIONDIVERSIFICATIONEARNINGSECONOMIC BEHAVIORECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC POLICIESECONOMIC REFORMSECONOMIC RESOURCESELASTICITYEMINENT DOMAINENDOWMENTSENTREPRENEURSENVIRONMENTSEQUALITYEQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITYEQUITY INVESTORSEXPENDITUREEXTERNALITIESFARMERFARMERSFREE ACCESSGOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONHOUSEHOLD WELFAREHOUSEHOLDSHOUSESHOUSINGHUMAN CAPITALINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINEQUALITYINSURANCEINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL LAWINVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIESIRRIGATIONJOB CREATIONLABOR MARKETSLABOR MOBILITYLABOUR MARKETSLAND ACQUISITIONLAND ADMINISTRATIONLAND ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMLAND DEVELOPMENTLAND ECONOMICSLAND MARKETLAND PRICESLAND REFORMLAND RIGHTSLAND TENURELAND USELAND USESLANDLORDSLANDSLEASESLEASINGMARKET DEVELOPMENTMARKETABLE SURPLUSMONOPOLYMORAL HAZARDMORTGAGEOUTREACHPOINTSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL INSTITUTIONSPRIVATE CREDITPRIVATE ENTERPRISESPRIVATE ENTREPRENEURSPRIVATE INVESTMENTPRIVATE INVESTORSPRIVATE PROPERTYPRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTSPRIVATE SECTORPROPERTY LAWPROPERTY OWNERSHIPPROPERTY RIGHTPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC GOODSPUBLIC LANDPUBLIC SECTORRECEIPTREINVESTMENTRENTSRESIDUAL CLAIMANTSRIGHTS OF WAYRURAL DEVELOPMENTSAFETY NETSECURE PROPERTY RIGHTSSOURCE OF INCOMESTATE POWERSUB-SAHARAN AFRICATAXTENANTSTENURETRANSACTION COSTSURBAN AREASURBAN DEVELOPMENTURBAN LANDURBAN LAND MARKETSVILLAGEVILLAGESWATER RIGHTSWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4447