EFFECTS OF LAND-REFORM ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME-DISTRIBUTION - STATISTICAL STUDY OF MEXICAN STATES, 1959-69

Describes the historical transfer of the right to use land from landowners to peasants and compares the performance of this peasant farming (the reform sector) with that of the remaining private farms (the private sector). Results show that output per unit of total measured inputs is growing faster in the reform than the private sector, due mainly to the transfer of the input land to the reform sector. Crop yield was lower in the reform sector, but (other than labour) there were fewer inputs such as fertilisers and not surprisingly it was found that marginal returns to expenditure on farm inputs were considerably higher in the reform sector. In the reform sector output per worker was lower, wages were lower, there was a lot of unpaid family labour and there was still a wide distribution of income. Results suggest that if land reform is to be effective in improving income distribution, it should be accompanied by an adequate flow of financial aid from the LDC governments to the land reform farmers.-V.S.Mead