Land Reform and Land Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989: Experiences and Perspectives

The countries in Central and Eastern Europe began a remarkable transition in 1989. Land reforms were high on the political agenda in most of the countries. In many countries in the region, land reforms have resulted in farm structures dominated by small and fragmented farms, which are not competitive in the globalized economy. Drawing on the classical theory on land fragmentation, this PhD study explores the coherence between the land reform approaches applied in 25 study countries and the outcome in form of farm structures and land fragmentation.
Most of the Central and Eastern European countries have introduced land consolidation instruments to address the structural problems in agriculture. The PhD study analyses the experiences from introduction of land consolidation and land banking instruments and provides the first full overview of the experiences achieved.
While land consolidation instruments are well on the way in the region, land banking instruments have largely failed in the region, at least as tools for supporting land consolidation programs. Based on the limited theory available, the analysis has revealed how limited land mobility is often hampering the outcome of land consolidation projects. Finally, the research has documented the need for a land consolidation model more suitable for Central and Eastern Europe. Such model, integrated voluntary land consolidation, is presented and discussed.