TY - JOUR
T1 - Land tenure, farm size, and rural market participation in developing countries
T2 - the case of the Tunisian olive sector
AU - Zaibet, L. T.
AU - Dunn, E. G.
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Specifically, we posit that the peasant's attitude vis-a-vis market mparticipation is better understood if structural factors related to the farm characteristics are investigated. In the Tunisian context, land tenure systems have been a central issue in discussions about land productivity and economic efficiency. Yet, there have been no studies on the impact of tenure on market participation. Farm size, the number of plots per farm, and other household characteristics are also posited to be important determinants of market participation. Most of the literature has focused on the supply side, such as output, labor, and land supply, but has ignored the farmer's factor-demand side. The contribution of this study is to investigate the determinants of the farmer's decision to use market inputs. We test a logit model to determine the factors most influential in the olive farmer's decision to exchange with the market. Cross-sectional farm data are used to test the behavioral relationships specified. In the next section, we provide an historical overview of agrarian structure and reforms in Tunisia. The impacts of such structural developments will be discussed. Hypotheses descrbing how different conditions regarding tenure status and farm size yield different levels of exchange with the market are presented in Section III. Section IV lays out the empirical framework and the estimation results. The article ends with conclusions and policy implications.
AB - Specifically, we posit that the peasant's attitude vis-a-vis market mparticipation is better understood if structural factors related to the farm characteristics are investigated. In the Tunisian context, land tenure systems have been a central issue in discussions about land productivity and economic efficiency. Yet, there have been no studies on the impact of tenure on market participation. Farm size, the number of plots per farm, and other household characteristics are also posited to be important determinants of market participation. Most of the literature has focused on the supply side, such as output, labor, and land supply, but has ignored the farmer's factor-demand side. The contribution of this study is to investigate the determinants of the farmer's decision to use market inputs. We test a logit model to determine the factors most influential in the olive farmer's decision to exchange with the market. Cross-sectional farm data are used to test the behavioral relationships specified. In the next section, we provide an historical overview of agrarian structure and reforms in Tunisia. The impacts of such structural developments will be discussed. Hypotheses descrbing how different conditions regarding tenure status and farm size yield different levels of exchange with the market are presented in Section III. Section IV lays out the empirical framework and the estimation results. The article ends with conclusions and policy implications.
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U2 - 10.1086/452376
DO - 10.1086/452376
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0031696235
SN - 0013-0079
VL - 46
SP - 831
EP - 848
JO - Economic Development and Cultural Change
JF - Economic Development and Cultural Change
IS - 4
ER -