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Land Inequality in a Coffee Economy: São Paulo During the Early Twentieth Century

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  • Renato Colistete
  • Maria Lucia Lamounier

Abstract

This article examines the distribution of land ownership in the northeastern part of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the leading coffee export region in the world during the early twentieth century. Based on a detailed agricultural census, we find a widespread presence of small and medium-size farms, with varied degrees of land concentration across subregions and municipalities. Still, large farms and latifundia controlled most of the productive resources in northeast São Paulo, resulting in high levels of inequality when compared to those of other export regions in South and North America.

Suggested Citation

  • Renato Colistete & Maria Lucia Lamounier, 2014. "Land Inequality in a Coffee Economy: São Paulo During the Early Twentieth Century," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2014_01, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    • Handle: RePEc:spa:wpaper:2014wpecon1
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    File URL: http://www.repec.eae.fea.usp.br/documentos/Colistete_Lamounier01WP.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Daron Acemoglu & María Angélica Bautista & Pablo Querubín & James A. Robinson, 2007. "Economic and Political Inequality in Development: The Case of Cundinamarca, Colombia," NBER Working Papers 13208, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Summerhill, William, 2010. "Colonial Institutions, Slavery, Inequality, and Development: Evidence from São Paulo, Brazil," MPRA Paper 22162, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Gabriel Witzel de Souza, 2016. "Subsidies to the History of the German-Speaking Immigration to the Province / State of São Paulo, Brazil (1840-1920)," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 233, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land Inequality; Coffee; São Paulo; Brazil;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N5 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries
    • N50 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • 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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