Rapid urban land growth has been a major characteristic of urbanization in China since reform and open-door policies began in the late 1970s. Due to its unique political system, historical experience, and geographic conditions, urban land growth in China is still characterized by short periods...

The sudden rise in land acquisitions in developing countries during the last decade has drawn the attention of scholars and think tanks. A set of recent papers by Deininger (2011), Deininger (2013), and Arezki et al. (2013) sought to understand the empirical determinants of the land rush. They...