Direitos de propriedade, desmatamento e conflitos rurais na Amazônia

Abstract

This paper's aim is to demonstrate the relationship between conflict and deforestation in rural Amazonian frontier. In the literature on the process of occupation of the region, it is emphasized the violent nature of land occupation as one of the characteristics of the dynamics of the process of deforestation. However, there is little statistical evidence about this relationship. To test empirically this hypothesis, we used statistical data on violence, measured by the rate of homicides, deforestation and socioeconomic variables, available for 575 municipalities of the Amazon. The results show that deforestation and violence are associated and supports the hypothesis that both result from a poor definition of property rights.