Non-agricultural land use and land reform: theory and evidence from Brazil

This paper examines the effect of nonagricultural land use on agrarian organization and land reform, providing a simple model to determine its policy implications and some evidence on its importance. It is argued that, if land-rental market is imperfect, there is a role for redistributive land policies and the following implications hold: (i) land reform is more probable to enhance efficiency in a low-wage economy; (ii) such policies should aim small farmers instead of landless people, obtaining land from large landholders. Empirical evidence suggests this is a relevant issue in Brazil, specially during periods of high macroeconomic instability.land reform; land use; agricultural development

Land taxes in a Latin American context

Since Henry George (1839-1897) economists have been arguing that a tax on unim- proved land is an ideal tax on e¢ ciency grounds. Output taxes, on the other hand, have distortional e¤ects on the economy. This paper shows that under asymmetric information output tax might be used along with land tax in order to implement the optimal taxation scheme in a Latin-American context, i.e., in an economy with imperfect land-rental market, non-agricultural land use and non-revenue objectives of land taxation. Also, we show that: (i) schemes based on land taxes alone might not be implementable; and (ii) tax evasion is more acute among large landholders.Optimal taxation, tax evasion, land use.

Financial constraints, migration and inequality

Although the self-selection of emigrants is determined by di¤erences in the returns to education, according to the celebrated Roy model, empirical evidence suggests that migrants tend to be favorably selected. This paper argues that financial con- straints might be useful to explain this controversy. These constraints might impose positive correlations between (i) wealth and education, and (ii) wealth and migra- tion, implying a positive bias in the empirical results. We also show that high levels of migration premium and return to education in the source country explain the migration of middle-class individuals, a situation in which migration increases in- equality in the home country.migration, financial constraints, self-selection, human capital

Testing competing explanations for the inverse productivity puzzle

We use plot-level data from ICRISAT to assess competing explanations for an old empirical regularity - the inverse relationship between land productivity and farm size. The presence of farmers who simultaneously crop multiple plots with di¤erent sizes is used to test (and reject) explanations based on household heterogeneity. The panel nature of the data is explored to test (and refuse) explanations based on plot fixed characteristics. We are then left with explanations based on time-varying plot features or measurement errors in the plot size. Theoretically, the input choices should reflect both plot-specific features and the true plot size. Empirically, the inverse relationship vanishes when we control for input use.Development, farm size, productivity.

ITR sem mentiras: um comentário sobre a taxação de terras com informação assimétrica

O objetivo do artigo é mostrar que a assimetria de informação presente na relação entre governo e produtores agropecuários pode constituir a origem dos problemas que ainda persistem na aplicação do Imposto Territorial no Brasil. Atra-vés da construção de um modelo teórico simples, que se baseia no problema de taxação ótima sob informação assimétrica, é possível analisar limitações inerentes à aplicação do Imposto Territorial Rural que ainda não se incorporaram à análise da taxação de terras. Diante de uma situação onde há terra ociosa, como ocorre no Brasil, o modelo teórico desenvolvido mostra que o uso do ITR como único instrumento tributário não é capaz de implementar o esquema ótimo. E a solução apontada pelo modelo envolve a utilização de um esquema misto que considera o Imposto sobre a Circulação de Mercadorias e Serviços (ICMS) e o ITR. Dessa forma, o modelo apresentado tenta preencher uma lacuna existen-te entre os modelos de taxação sob informação assimétrica e os modelos mais es-pecíficos de taxação de terra. E, como implicações de política, os resultados suge-rem um redirecionamento do estudo do ITR, atualmente centrado em questões de ordem operacional, como determinação de alíquotas e outras regras.

DESENVOLVIMENTO DESIGUAL: EVIDÊNCIAS PARA O BRASIL

The uneven development, or either, why growth rates differ between countries or regions, is still the main question of development economics, no matter which theory one follows: the convergence, coordination failure or market imperfection approach. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of Brazilian economy development over the 1970-2000 period, using Demographic Census data, in order to find signs of convergence or regional inequalities. The data analysis shows a uneven development among regions, that goes beyond the idea of differences between North/Northeast and the remainder of the country.

Tributação e a Organização dos Prestadores de Serviços no Brasil

The real impact of taxes on the economy can only be assessed when we consider the behavioral responses of economic agents due to these taxes. This paper shows how income taxation in Brazil gives incentives to some classes of taxpayers to incorporate in order to reduce their tax burden. Microdata analysis on these taxpayers characteristics indicate that the probability of incorporation is strongly related to tax ruleTaxation, Organizational Form, Tax Avoidance.