Date thesis is presented AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Tao-Chung Yang for the M. S.. in Agricultural Economics (Name) (Degree) (Major) Title ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND REFORM

Abstract approved, (Major professor) Beginning with 1949, Taiwan carried out a series of land re-forms which have now been mostly completed. When the island was returned to China in 1945, tenancy was a serious problem as it was on the China mainland. Nearly half of its farm land was under tenancy and some tenants paid to landlords as much as 70 percent of their annual crop as rent and had no security of tenure. Their income was extremely low and their life difficult. The land reform program was carried out in three phases. The first phase was carried out in 1949. The program compulsorily re-duced farm rental rates in Taiwan from an average of 50 percent to a uniform rate of 37.5 percent of the annual crop yield. Many tenant families were benefited. The second phase began in 1952. By the end of 1961, 94, 000 hectares of public owned land had been sold b