Autocracy and Redistribution: The Politics of Land Reform

366 Pages·2015·3.832 MB·English

by  Michael Albertus

AutocracyandRedistribution
ThePoliticsofLandReform
When and why do countries redistribute land to the landless? What
politicalpurposesdoeslandreformserve,andwhatplacedoesithave
intoday’sworld?Along-standingliteraturethatdatesbacktoAristo-
tle and is echoed in important recent works holds that redistribution
should be both more prevalent and more targeted at the poor under
democracy.Yetcomprehensivehistoricaldatatotestthisclaimhasbeen
lacking. This book shows that land redistribution – the most conse-
quentialformofredistributioninthedevelopingworld–occursmore
oftenunderdictatorshipthandemocracy.Itoffersanoveltheoryofland
reformanddevelopsatypologyoflandreformpolicies.MichaelAlber-
tusleveragesoriginaldatafromaroundtheworlddatingbackto1900
to extensively test this theory using statistical analysis and case stud-
ies of key countries, such as Egypt, Peru, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
Thesefindingscallforrethinkingmuchofthecommonwisdomabout
redistributionandpoliticalregimes.
MichaelAlbertusisAssistantProfessorofPoliticalScienceattheUni-
versityofChicago.Hisresearchinterestsincluderedistribution,politi-
cal regimetransitionsandregimestability,politics underdictatorship,
clientelism, and conflict. Albertus’s most recent work has been pub-
lishedinjournalssuchastheBritishJournalofPoliticalScience,Jour-
nal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Political Studies, Economics
&Politics,andComparativePolitics.Hehasalsoconductedextensive
fieldresearchthroughoutLatinAmerica.
CambridgeStudiesinComparativePolitics
GeneralEditors
KathleenThelenMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology
ErikWibbelsDukeUniversity
AssociateEditors
RobertH.BatesHarvardUniversity
GaryCoxStanfordUniversity
ThadDunningUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
AnnaGrzymala-BusseUniversityofMichigan,AnnArbor
StephenHansonTheCollegeofWilliamandMary
TorbenIversenHarvardUniversity
StathisKalyvasYaleUniversity
MargaretLeviStanfordUniversity
PeterLangeDukeUniversity
HelenMilnerPrincetonUniversity
FrancesRosenbluthYaleUniversity
SusanStokesYaleUniversity
OtherBooksintheSeries
BenW.Ansell,FromtheBallottotheBlackboard:TheRedistributivePolitical
EconomyofEducation
LeonardoR.Arriola,Multi-EthnicCoalitionsinAfrica,BusinessFinancingof
OppositionElectionCampaigns
DavidAusten-Smith,JeffryA.Frieden,MiriamA.Golden,KarlOveMoene,and
AdamPrzeworski,eds.,SelectedWorksofMichaelWallerstein:ThePolitical
EconomyofInequality,Unions,andSocialDemocracy
AndyBaker,TheMarketandtheMassesinLatinAmerica:PolicyReformand
ConsumptioninLiberalizingEconomies
LisaBaldez,WhyWomenProtest?Women’sMovementsinChile
StefanoBartolini,ThePoliticalMobilizationoftheEuropeanLeft,1860–1980:
TheClassCleavage
RobertBates,WhenThingsFellApart:StateFailureinLate-CenturyAfrica
MarkBeissinger,NationalistMobilizationandtheCollapseoftheSovietState
NancyBermeo,ed.,UnemploymentintheNewEurope
CarlesBoix,DemocracyandRedistribution
CarlesBoix,PoliticalOrderandInequality:TheirFoundationsandTheir
ConsequencesforHumanWelfare
CarlesBoix,PoliticalParties,Growth,andEquality:ConservativeandSocial
DemocraticEconomicStrategiesintheWorldEconomy
CatherineBoone,MerchantCapitalandtheRootsofStatePowerinSenegal,
1930–1985
(ContinuedaftertheIndex)
Autocracy and Redistribution
The Politics of Land Reform
MICHAEL ALBERTUS
UniversityofChicago
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY10013-2473,USA
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(cid:2)C MichaelAlbertus2015
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Albertus,Michael,1983–
Autocracyandredistribution:thepoliticsoflandreform/MichaelAlbertus.
pagescm.–(Cambridgestudiesincomparativepolitics)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-10655-0(hardback)–ISBN978-1-107-51430-0(paperback)
1.Landreform–Politicalaspects. 2.Landreform–Developingcountries–History.
3.Developingcountries–Politicsandgovernment. I.Title.
HD1332.A43 2015
333.3ʹ1091724–dc23 2015012675
ISBN978-1-107-10655-0Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-51430-0Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofURLsfor
externalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublicationanddoesnotguarantee
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Contents
ListofTables page vii
ListofFigures ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Actors,Interests,andtheOriginsofEliteSplits 26
3 ATheoryofLandReform 60
4 MeasuringLandReform 112
5 ACross-NationalAnalysisofLandReforminLatin
America 142
6 EliteSplitsandRedistributionunderAutocracy:Peru’s
“RevolutionfromAbove” 190
7 LandReformTransformedtoRedistribution:Venezuela’s
PuntoFijoDemocracyandCha´vez’sBolivarianRevolution 225
8 LatinAmericainComparativePerspective 266
9 Conclusion 304
References 321
Index 345
v

List of Tables
2.1 LandDistributioninLatinAmerica,1950–1970 page 30
2.2 KeyRulingPoliticalElitesinVenezuela,1945–1948 36
2.3 CasesofLarge-ScaleRuralProtestandOrganizationin
LatinAmerica,1910–2008 43
3.1 RequiredStepstoCreateandImplementLandReform 62
3.2 LandRedistributionandRulingPoliticalEliteSurvival 73
4.1 ATypologyofLandReform 126
5.1 SummaryStatistics 145
5.2 LandRedistributionbyEliteSplitsandVetoPoints 154
5.3 LandRedistribution,PoliticalInstitutions,andEliteSplits
inLatinAmerica,1930–2008 156
5.4 AlternativeExplanationsforLandRedistribution,
1930–2008 160
5.5 LandNegotiation,LandColonization,andAggregateLand
Reform,1930–2008 176
5.6 IVandHeckmanEstimatesofLandRedistribution,
1930–2008 182
6.1 LandReforminPeru,1939–2006 196
6.2 DeterminantsofLandExpropriationinPeru,1969–1980 219
7.1 LandReforminVenezuela,1908–2013 229
7.2 LandReforminVenezuelabyState,1958–1990 253
7.3 LandReforminVenezuelabyMunicipalityinRural
Municipalities,1958–1988 256
7.4 LandDistributioninVenezuelabyMunicipalityinRural
Municipalities,2007–2009 263
8.1 MajorandMinorCasesofLandRedistributionOutsideof
LatinAmerica,1900–2010 271
8.2 LandRedistribution,PoliticalInstitutions,andEliteSplits
aroundtheWorld,1900–2008 280
vii

List of Figures
2.1 PercentageoftheEconomicallyActivePopulationin
AgricultureinLatinAmerica,1950 page39
3.1 AnEconomyoftheLandedElite,RulingPoliticalElite,and
RuralPoor 79
3.2 Intra-EliteSplitsandLandRedistribution 86
3.3 AThree-ActorModelofLandRedistribution 88
3.4 ModelEquilibria 96
4.1 LandReforminLatinAmerica,1930–2008 131
4.2 LandReforminLatinAmericabyCountry,1930–2008 132
4.3 Country-LevelContributionstoTotalLatinAmerican
LandReform,1930–2008 136
4.4 ChangeinLandInequalityinLatinAmerica,1950–1990 140
5.1 VetoPointsacrossPoliticalRegimesinLatinAmerica,
1930–2008 147
5.2 LandRedistribution,EliteSplits,andVetoPointsinLatin
America,1930–2008 153
5.3 MarginalEffectsofEliteSplitonLandRedistributionas
VetoPointsVary 157
6.1 Haciendas,IndigenousCommunities,andSmallProperties
inOllantaytamboDistrict,Cusco,1960s 194
6.2 EliteSplits,InstitutionalConstraints,andLand
RedistributioninPeru,1930–2008 206
6.3 LandholdingInequalityandExpropriationinPeru 214
6.4 NumberofPropertiesAffectedbyExpropriationinPeruby
Year,1969–1980 215
7.1 LandTransferTypesandCompensationunderVenezuela’s
1960AgrarianReformLaw 236
ix