On the political economy of land reforms in the former soviet union

摘要

While all transition countries have chosen to reform land property rights as part of their reform strategies, the procedures chosen and the implementation has differed strongly among transition countries. For example, countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia have restituted farmland to former owners who lost their land during the collectivization process. Others have distributed farmland among rural households (Albania) have sold and leased farmland (Poland), used share distribution systems (Russia) or voucher procedures (Hungary) to privatize (part of the) farmland. In several Countries more than one procedure was used. Elsewhere we have forwarded a series of hypotheses on the reasons behind the differences in land reform procedures in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), using a political economy framework (Swinnen, 1999). The study did not cover land reform procedures in the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU), except for the Balties. In FSU countries, land reform differs significantly in procedure and lags behind in progress compared to the CEECs (see Table I). In many FSU countries, land property rights are distributed to rural households under the form of land shares (see further). This procedure results in incomplete individual property rights and creates important constraints on access to land for potential farmers. Many studies have noted the lagging reform progress in the former Soviet Union compared with the CEECs. This is well captured by the following quote from Lerman (20(111 pp. 1-2): There is sometimes a feeling that the cold-War iron curtain has been replaced by another 'east/west divide', which now lies further east, along the borders of what has become known as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a political entity compromising the 12 successor republics of the former Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic states). . .. The countries west of the divide, which include the former Comecon members in CEE and ... the Baltics, are applying for accession to the European Union and are making plans to join... NATO. ... The CIS countries east of the divide remain introvert and relatively isolated from the rest of Europe, viewing the west with undisguised suspicion.