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Selected Land Reforms in East and Southeast Asia: Their Origins and Impacts
Author(s) -
Dorner Peter,
Thiesenhusen William C
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
asian‐pacific economic literature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.232
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1467-8411
pISSN - 0818-9935
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8411.1990.tb00025.x
Subject(s) - agrarian reform , land reform , china , government (linguistics) , distribution (mathematics) , development economics , democracy , agrarian society , economics , underemployment , profitability index , agriculture , economic policy , economy , geography , economic growth , political science , politics , unemployment , mathematical analysis , philosophy , linguistics , mathematics , archaeology , finance , law
Agrarian reforms in the four case study countries examined here came about by outside influence (Korea and Taiwan), revolutionary uprising (People's Republic of China), and legislation (Philippines). In the last case, the reforms remain very incomplete. In Taiwan and South Korea, reforms initially promoted a more equitable distribution of resources and income. This widened the domestic market, lessened underemployment and joblessness in both agriculture and industry, increased profitability in manufacturing, and established more equitable development patterns. In these economies, a national market has preceded (or accompanied) development of world markets. Land reform is not a once‐and‐for‐all phenomenon. Resources and incomes can concentrate again in the absence of proper government policies. There is no necessary correlation between land reform, economic improvement, and democratic forms of government.