The Stolypin Reform and Agricultural Productivity in Late Imperial Russia

We study the effect of changes in land tenure, launched by the 1906 Stolypin reform, on agricultural productivity in late Imperial Russia. The reform allowed peasants to obtain land titles and consolidate separated land strips into single allotments. Our estimations suggest that the net effect of the reform on land productivity was positive, mainly due to land consolidations. We argue and present evidence that land consolidations enabled peasants to make independent production decisions from the village commune and take advantage of readily accessible technological advancements. In contrast, the titling component of the reform decreased land productivity in the short-run, arguably because of transaction costs