| Abstract: | The size distribution of landholdings varied widely in pre-Famine Ireland. Its determinants are of great interest given the catastrophe of the Great Famine. This paper divides holdings into labor-deficient and labor-surplus. The statistical analysis consists of fitting a lognormal distribution to the holding data and regressing the estimated parameters on the physical characteristics of the locality, such as land quality, and on the economic environment and in particular population density. Their influence operates through the labor market on the sides of both supply and demand. The model explains the inequality in the holding distribution better than the central tendency. |
