Land use behavior under different institutional settings

There are different farm inheritance and succession traditions in Austria. In most regions, impartible inheritance (Anerbenrecht), in which the majority of the farm is passed on to a single heir (traditionally the oldest or youngest son), is common. In some regions of western Austria and eastern Austria partible inheritance (Realteilung), i.e. equal distribution of property among all heirs, is/was traditionally practiced. In a first step, the project examines the influence of these different traditions of inheritance and succession on agricultural land fragmentation, land ownership fragmentation and absentee landownership. In a second step, the influence of these variables (land fragmentation, land ownership fragmentation and absentee landownership) on the economic and environmental performance of farms is examined. For example, greater land fragmentation (smaller, spatially distributed fields) can lead to higher labor costs, higher production costs and lower incomes for farmers. However, greater land fragmentation could also lead to a higher diversity of land use (many different plants instead of monocultures) and thus to more biodiversity and higher soil fertility. The distribution of land ownership, in turn, has an impact on the ability of farms to grow. Currently in Austria and other European countries the rental share of farms is increasing. In Austria, the average farm rents around 1/3 of its utilized agricultural area. This can lead to a dependency of farms on landowners and to high transaction costs (many leases with different landowners). In addition, there are indications that the relationship between the landowner and the renting farmer influences land use behavior. In order to answer our research questions, we use extensive geospatial datasets: 1) the Integrated Accounting and Control System (IACS), which includes land use information at the plot-level such as crop choice and participation in agri-environmental schemes; and 2) Austrian cadaster data, containing information on legal property items and their owners, including owners place of residence. Moreover, we utilize farm-level data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and conduct qualitative interviews with farmers and landowners. The following research is conducted: 1.) We calculate fragmentation/concentration measures at the farm and regional level and relate them to different inheritance and succession traditions. 2.) We combine data from IACS, cadaster and bookkeeping and use efficiency analysis to investigate: i) the effect of land fragmentation and land ownership fragmentation on the efficiency of farms; and ii) if economic efficiency and environmental efficiency (e.g., crop diversity), are substitutes or complements. 3.) We investigate: i) the relationship between landlords and tenants placing a particular focus on proximity/distance; and ii) the effect of proximate vs. distant landlord- tenant relationships (e.g., residential vs. absentee landlords) on farmers soil conservation behavior.