MARKET-BASED LAND REFORM AND FARM EFFICIENCY IN COLOMBIA: A DEA APPROACH

This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis to measure scale and technical efficiencies of 925 farms in rural Colombia and a Tobit model to identify the effects of land market characteristics on efficiency. Findings indicate that although larger farms are more scale efficient, they are not more technical efficient than small farms. Participation in land markets increases technical efficiency, indicating a positive potential role for market-based land reform. Further results show that intensity of violence in rural areas results in increased scale efficiency, allegedly through consolidation of land ownership.