2. Land and Agricultural Reform
• Land reform and the development of the agricultural sector were two critical
components of Asia's past economic successes.
• Indeed, the economic takeoff of Japan, and later, South Korea and Taiwan,
three of the region's most advanced economies, was jump-started by a
dynamic agricultural sector.
• Both South Korea and Taiwan, like Vietnam today, were agrarian states
before entering a period of rapid industrialization.
• The latter was ignited with the help of a thriving agricultural sector, which
ultimately led to higher rural incomes, greater exports, the spread of ruralrelated
industries, and increased demand for industrial inputs and consumer
goods. Giving peasants the right to own and till their land, rather than
languish as impoverished tenants or sharecroppers , was a key component of
this agricultural boom.