Land (economics): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:11, 25 April 2025

Template:Short description Template:About Template:See also Template:More citations needed In economics, land comprises all naturally occurring resources as well as geographic land. Examples include particular geographical locations, mineral deposits, forests, fish stocks, atmospheric quality, geostationary orbits, and portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Supply of these resources is fixed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Factor of production

Land is considered one of the three factors of production (also sometimes called the three producer goods) along with capital, and labor. Natural resources are fundamental to the production of all goods, including capital goods.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> While the particular role of land in the economy was extensively debated in classical economics it played a minor role in the neoclassical economics dominant in the 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Income derived from ownership or control of natural resources is referred to as rent.<ref name=":0" />

Ownership

Template:Main Because no man created the land, it does not have a definite original proprietor, owner or user.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Blockquote

Consequently, conflicting claims on geographic locations and mineral deposits have historically led to disputes over their economic rent and contributed to many civil wars and revolutions.

In the context of geographic locations the resulting conflict is regularly understood as the land question (see e.g. United Kingdom,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> South Africa,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Canada<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>).

Addressing the land question

Land reform

Land reform programs are designed to redistribute possession and/or use of geographic land.

Georgism

Georgists hold that this implies a perfectly inelastic supply curve (i.e., zero elasticity), suggesting that a land value tax that recovers the rent of land for public purposes would not affect the opportunity cost of using land, but would instead only decrease the value of owning it. This view is supported by evidence that although land can come on and off the market, market inventories of land show, if anything, an inverse relationship to price (i.e., negative elasticity).

Significance

Land plays a vital role in advanced economies. In the UK, the "non-produced asset of land" accounts for 51% of the country's total net worth,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> implying that it plays a more critical role in the economy than capital.

Academic

Some United Kingdom and commonwealth universities offer courses in land economy, where economics is studied alongside law, business regulation, surveying, and the built and natural environments.<ref name="cam.ac.uk">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This mode of study at Cambridge dates back to 1917 when William Cecil Dampier suggested the creation of a school of rural economy at the university.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accounting

As a tangible asset, land is represented in accounting as a fixed asset or a capital asset.

Sustainability

Template:See also The sustainable use of land is the focus of some economic theories.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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