ECON 313 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: West Bengal, Sharecropping, Natural Experiment
15 Feb 2017
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Agent only keeps (1- (cid:895) of output, max(e)= (1- (cid:895)f(cid:894)e(cid:895)-e. Conclusion: farmers work less, invest less if there is a risk of expropriation. Cannot compare those with secure vs insecure property rights. This would compare officeholder vs non officeholders who are obviously different (wealthier, more educated) Another idea could be to focus on office holders only: compare plots: inherited vs commercial. Another idea: natural experiment: massive shock to security of property rights. In treatment group not control group: operation braga. Except in such cases, the sharecropper will lose his right to the land if the landlord wants to use the land for personal cultivation. The share that a landlord can demand from a registered tenant will be no more than 25: complete failure. Landlords abused the personal cultivation exemption to threaten eviction. The government provided no support for registration. 74% tenants: lease subject to arbitrary termination by the landlord: 1977: left wing government. Closed the loophole: strict conditions for eviction.
