The continuing economic stagnation of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has typically been explained in terms of the resource-curse thesis. Yet, without analyzing the geographical constraints of MENA and the institutions of the region, particularly ones that pertain to land and property rights, this explanation is partial at best. Specifically addressing the structural constraints on using land for economic transformation, we offer a new explanation for the underdevelopment of MENA. We show that transformation in agriculture is inhibited by fuzzy property rights in land that were inherited from colonial and post-colonial agricultural policies. Political-economic transformation in MENA could unleash the power of land in the region.

中文翻译：

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中东和北非的农业土地问题

中东和北非 (MENA) 持续的经济停滞通常可以用资源诅咒论点来解释。然而，如果不分析 MENA 和该地区机构的地理限制，特别是与土地和财产权有关的机构，这种解释充其量只是片面的。针对土地用于经济转型的结构性约束，我们为中东和北非地区的欠发达提供了新的解释。我们表明农业转型受到从殖民和后殖民农业政策继承而来的土地模糊产权的抑制。中东和北非地区的政治经济转型可以释放该地区土地的力量。