A. The Empirical Context of the Study
In my thesis (Shaban 1985), and under the assumption of ineffective monitoring of the sharecropper's activities, I have shown that whether different characteristics can be observed between lands under sharecropping and those under fixed-rent tenancy critically depends on the presence of rent restrictions and the opportunities available to tenants. In particular, sharecropping and fixed-rent arrangements are shown to generate identical outcomes, in terms of incomes, labor/land, and output/land ratios, in the context of no alter native employment opportunities for the pure tenant and where a minimum subsistence income must be provided to the tenant as a participation constraint. The same conclusion can also be derived when the landlord stipulates and effectively monitors the sharecroppers’activities.