Institutional environments and conflict between foreign investors and local communities in large-scale agricultural land acquisitions

Abstract

This study explores when conflict between foreign investors and local communities is likely to arise in large-scale agricultural land acquisitions (agricultural LSLAs) in developing countries. As prior studies emphasize stakeholder management of investors, we know relatively little about how the institutional environments surrounding LSLAs shape patterns of conflict. Combining insights from studies on informal community institutions, social movement, and comparative development, I develop arguments on how conflict is associated with liberal economic institutions and how this association is moderated by democratic institutions and inequality of both host and home countries. An analysis of 436 LSLAs between 2000 and 2019 based on Heckman’s sample selection models strongly supports the arguments. This study extends our understanding of conflict by incorporating interactions among multiple dimensions of institutions. It also contributes to the comparative development research by shedding light on the uniqueness of rural communities in developing countries compared with other non-elite actors.