Agricultural, expansion, resource booms and growth in Latin America: Implications for long-run economic development

This paper examines a number of key issues concerning agricultural land expansion, resource booms and economic growth in Latin America. The structural characteristics of agricultural development, represented by cropland share of total land area, agricultural export share of total exports, and cereal yields, appear to influence agricultural land expansion in the region. Long-run agricultural land expansion may also be correlated with a "boom and bust" pattern of economic development. Contributing factors include distorted land and resource markets, ineffective property rights, and the failure to target policies to improve the efficient and sustainable management of natural resources. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.