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Conditions of Successful Land Reform: A Study of M icronesia
Author(s) -
Yoo Dongwoo,
Harris Edwyna
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian economic history review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.493
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1467-8446
pISSN - 0004-8992
DOI - 10.1111/aehr.12091
Subject(s) - investment (military) , land reform , agriculture , micronesian , population , agricultural economics , empire , economics , geography , economy , political science , demography , history , ethnology , sociology , politics , law , archaeology
During the twentieth century J apan and the U nited S tates attempted land reform in M icronesia. J apan was more successful because a growing population had led to an increasing demand for agricultural products, which could only be met by expanding agriculture across its empire. This required investment in land reform to transfer ownership from common to private rights. Conversely, the Americans faced no such domestic pressures, valuing M icronesia only for its strategic location and military testing. We formulate a model to examine the outcomes of Micronesian land reform under the long‐sighted policy of the Japanese compared with short‐sighted approach of the A mericans.