THE EFFECTS OF LAND-TENURE ON THE AGRICULTURAL-DEVELOPMENT IN SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The effects of land tenure on the agricultural development of some European countries during the latter half of the 19th century is examined. It is claimed that institutions matter. O'Brian & Keyder in their work blamed the French small family farm for retaining too much labour. Here it is equally argued, that the British tenurial system retained too much capital from an efficiency point of view, due to the strong concentration of landownership. The Danish system may, incidently, have been just about right in exploiting the comparative advantages in agriculture. A closer view of the Danish institution from the micro-level seems to confirm this assertion. It is corroborated by a rough comparison of the development of labour productivity in European agriculture.