The impact of income, land, and wealth inequality on agricultural expansion in Latin America
Abstract
Over the past few years, there has been a renewed interest on inequality. At the global level, there has been an increase in the concentration of income and wealth with a number of economic, social, and environmental consequences. In this article, I study the relationship between different forms of inequality (namely, income, wealth, and land concentration), agricultural intensification, and agricultural expansion in Latin America. This region represents one of the most active agricultural frontiers in the world while at the same time registering one of the highest rates of inequality. Understanding the role of inequality in directing the process of agricultural intensification toward land-sparing or further agricultural expansion, and consequent deforestation, is important to inform appropriate corrective policies.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- February 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1814894116
- Bibcode:
- 2019PNAS..116.2527C