Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/328225 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18095
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Postwar land reforms in East Asia were implemented as a geopolitical strategy to curb communism expansion. This paper evaluates their long-term political effects in Japan and Taiwan. In Japan, reform increased support for conservative parties and reduced backing for socialist and communist factions, with intergenerational persistence. Taiwan's reform similarly bolstered electoral support for the Kuomintang. IV analyses support a causal interpretation. Survey evidence suggests that land acquisition fostered a desire for political stability as the mechanism, rather than through reciprocity or pro-market ideology. These findings highlight land reform's critical role in shaping postwar political alignment and deflecting communist influence.
Subjects: 
land reform
communism
Japan
Taiwan
JEL: 
Q15
Q11
N55
P26
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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