Land reform

Common card · No. 201731

Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) refers to the process of changing who owns agricultural land and who has the right to use these lands. Land reform concerns the laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, land economics, and land transfers. Redistributive land reform refers to the narrower concept of transferring agricultural land ownership from large private landowners to small farmers and people without any landholdings. It involves the redistribution of wealth and political power that comes from owning large swathes of land. Reforming the ownership of land may be initiated by governments or market forces, and at times have been sparked by revolution. In the 20th century, both capitalist and communist governments have enacted land reforms. Land reform is a political process. It is often considered a contentious issue, as land is a key driver of a wide range of social, political and economic inequalities. The structure and distribution of land rights has...

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