Taiwan's Economy
Land to the Tiller: Taiwan's Land Reform
How Taiwan's land reforms of 1949-53 cut rents, sold public land and transferred land to tenant farmers, boosting farm output and equality.
After the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan in 1949, it carried out major land reform.
Three steps
- Rent reduction (1949): farm rents capped at 37.5 percent of the main crop.
- Sale of public land to farmers (1951).
- Land to the Tiller (1953): landlords had to sell land above a limit to the government, which resold it to tenants.
Compensation
Landlords were paid partly in shares of state enterprises, turning some into industrial investors.
Effects
- Farm output rose as owners invested in their land.
- Rural incomes became more equal.
- Savings from farms funded industry.
Political context
The Nationalist government had few ties to Taiwanese landlords, making reform easier.
Lesson
Fast, thorough land reform can support equitable growth, contrasting with slow reforms in places like the Philippines.
A tenant farmer who paid half his rice to a landlord buys the land in 1953, invests in irrigation and doubles his output.
Taiwan's reform raised output and equality.
- Taiwan reformed land from 1949 to 1953.
- Rents were capped at 37.5 percent.
- Land to the Tiller transferred land to tenants.
- Output and equality rose.
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