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The Global “Rush” for Land: Does it Provide Opportunities for African Countries?

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The Industrial Policy Revolution II

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Abstract

Growing food demand from an expanding and more affluent population and greater use of land for non—food purposes such as biofuels translated into to higher commodity prices and competition for land and other natural resources. Together with the pricing of environmental amenities, this led to a surge in investments in farmland, often d national borders. In addition to traditional agribusiness investors, demand from actors such as sovereign wealth, pension and private equity funds who traditionally had little interest in agriculture has also increased markedly, mainly in response to land being considered a very desirable asset class in the current volatile environment.

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Deininger, K. (2013). The Global “Rush” for Land: Does it Provide Opportunities for African Countries?. In: Stiglitz, J.E., Yifu, J.L., Patel, E. (eds) The Industrial Policy Revolution II. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137335234_16

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