Institution and development: experimental evidence of land titling on welfare gains in India

Subramanian, A. and Kumar, P. (2020) Institution and development: experimental evidence of land titling on welfare gains in India. In: 12th World Congress of the Econometric Society/Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, 17-21 August 2020, (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Increasing evidence shows the significance of de jure land ownership in determining agricultural productivity. Yet, causal evidence of the effectiveness of land rights is scarce. We leverage experimental variation induced by nudging Indian farmers to obtain formal land titles. We find that titling increases agricultural investments, productivity, and profits. We identify the collateral effect of titling as the potential channel for higher investment. Farmers respond to titling by releasing locked-in family labour, but land formalization fails to stimulate land markets. We show that those who obtain land titles make welfare gains and subsequently recover the full cost of titling.

Item Type:Conference Proceedings
Additional Information:The authors thankfully acknowledge the support of the ESRC-DFID funded research project with ESRC Grant Reference: ES/J009334/1.
Keywords:Property rights, land title, agricultural productivity, land market, collateral, India.
Status:Unpublished
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Subramanian, Dr Arjunan
Authors: Subramanian, A., and Kumar, P.
Subjects:H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
College/School:College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Economics
Related URLs:
Data DOI:10.5255/UKDA-SN-853079

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
190468Information, market creation and agricultural growth.Arjunan SubramanianEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/J009334/1BS - Economics