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Sweet equality: Sugar, property rights and land distribution in colonial Java

Author

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  • de Zwart, Pim
  • Soekhradj, Phylicia

Abstract

This article exploits a unique district-level dataset to investigate the relationship between sugar cultivation, property rights systems and land distribution in colonial Java around the turn of the twentieth century. We demonstrate a negative and statistically significant relationship between sugar cultivation and the landholder Gini. An IV strategy, employing a newly computed index of sugar suitability as instrument, suggests that this effect is causal. It is argued that sugar production in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries stimulated the expansion and persistence of communal landholding. This communal landholding consequently led to more equally distributed plots among landholders in the early twentieth century. We emphasize the importance of local property rights institutions in mitigating the effects of export production on socioeconomic outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • de Zwart, Pim & Soekhradj, Phylicia, 2022. "Sweet equality: Sugar, property rights and land distribution in colonial Java," CEPR Discussion Papers 17278, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17278
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Property rights; Institutions; Colonialism; Inequality; Indonesia; Cash crops;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N55 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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