Spatial econometric analysis of the moldavian real estate value

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to investigate the current situation of land market and land fragmentation of family farms in Moldova in the context of sustainable agricultural development: relationship to family well-being, farm efficiency, partial productivities of land and labor. The actual use of various market mechanisms for land consolidation will be discussed, including buying and selling of land as well as leasing. In this discussion, survey data are supplemented with transaction information from state cadastre sources. Comparative statistics and regression analysis are used to examine the relationship between land fragmentation and farm size, agricultural production, farm and off-farm jobs, and the amount of land rented-in and-out. A key hypothesis investigated is that consolidation of agricultural land in Moldova has beneficial effects in terms of productivity and is desirable in the long run. Our analysis shows that the extent of parcel consolidation is directly correlated with relative efficiency of farms: consolidated family farms are more efficient than those with fragmented holdings