What Drives the Global Land Rush?

Download or read book What Drives the Global Land Rush? written by Mr.Rabah Arezki and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper studies the determinants of foreign land acquisition for large-scale agriculture. To do so, gravity models are estimated using data on bilateral investment relationships, together with newly constructed indicators of agro-ecological suitability in areas with low population density as well as indicators of land rights security. Results confirm the central role of agro-ecological potential as a pull factor. In contrast to the literature on foreign investment in general, the quality of the business climate is insignificant whereas weak land governance and tenure security for current users make countries more attractive for investors. Implications for policy are discussed.