RIEB Discussion Paper Series No.2026-21

Title

Early-life Exposure to Land Reform and Children's Health: Evidence from Cuba

Abstract

Despite the potential for land reform to improve children's health through nutritional intake, there is little evidence of its effectiveness. Cuba implemented land reforms in 2012 to increase agricultural production, similar to land reforms in other transitional countries. Leveraging the variation in land reform diffusion in Cuba, we evaluate the impact of the land reform in 2012 on children's physical development. Our results show that prenatal exposure to land reform improved children's birthweight. We also find rural-specific effects of postnatal exposure on childre's weight and height, and that postnatal exposure is a key driver of health improvements among children, particularly those in more vulnerable populations. Thus, despite the restricted land reforms in Cuba compared with reforms in other countries, they have positive impacts on children’s health. Moreover, considering the limited distribution system in Cuba, the land reform demonstrates substantial positive impacts on children's health after birth, with these benefits being more pronounced in rural areas characterized by higher agricultural intensity.

Keywords

Land reform; Fetal origins hypothesis; Early-life health; Usufruct rights; Cuba

JEL Classification

I15, P26, Q15

Inquiries

Yoshihiko HASHIGUCHI
Institute of Developing Economies (IDE-JETRO), Chiba, JAPAN
Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, JAPAN