| Among the family-farms in western Germany, significant regional differences are observable. They exist not only with respect to present farm-structure but also with respect to patterns of structural change. In the present paper, the different farm-development-strategies that cause these regional patterns are explained economically. As a central cause for their stability in a competitive environment, the relatedness of agricultural production to the non-renewable factor land is identified. Moreover, the coordination of the different strategies, which results in regional clusters, is shown to evolve endogenously in a model of strategic interaction on the land-market. It is demonstrated that due to the existence of rents of the status quo and resulting... |
