Farmland concentration, consolidation and the land market

This essay reviews the approaches taken by the Japanese agricultural economists on farmland concentration and consolidation. We critically discuss how scholars saw and understood the 'land market' and evaluate the achievement and limitations of empirical studies. We suggest sharing a more realistic image of land markets, evaluation of policies and programs, and designing institutions to facilitate farmland consolidations as important directions for further research. Close collaboration between case-studies and quantitative approaches would be fruitful.