Capital Concentration on Land Ownership in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

This research was a case study on a selected sub-clan in rural Bangladesh that explored the pattern of capital concentration on rural land and identified the factors behind it. The primary data on a village, a sub-clan and its belonging households were used for the study. A panel survey in 2013 complemented for data collected earlier in 2004 covering a period of over hundred years. Originating in the early twentieth century from a very large farmer, there were 28 male heirs in the sample sub-clan in its 4th generation, who were categorised as non-farm household and marginal, small, medium and large farmers ascending to their land ownership. Based on the transactions, prices and returns to land during 1906–2013, its market was classified into four phases in sequence from derisive to desirous. The capital output ratio of land increased to an extreme high for an excessive price hike that led the households to get ambitious for land in the contemporary desirous market. The land-rich medium and large farmers were found to accumulate over three-forth of all purchases indicating their more contributions to land capitalisation. Their major sources of fund were surplus over service income followed by that of agriculture and business. Moreover, continuous capital concentration made the land a commodity, for which a few households with fast-rising service income were even engaged in reckless purchases. However, people with investment opportunities in other high-productive sectors were less eager to purchase agricultural land.