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Land invasions and contemporary slavery
Cepaluni, Gabriel Civitarese, Jamil Dorsch, Michael T.
Cepaluni, Gabriel
Civitarese, Jamil
Dorsch, Michael T.
Title / Series / Name
European Journal of Political Economy
Publication Volume
93
Publication Issue
Pages
Editors
Keywords
Development studies
Human rights
Land invasion
Modern-day slaves
Economics and Econometrics
Political Science and International Relations
SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
Human rights
Land invasion
Modern-day slaves
Economics and Econometrics
Political Science and International Relations
SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
Files
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Dorsch-Michael2_2026.pdf
Adobe PDF, 2.34 MB
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/28825
Abstract
Do landless social movements reduce labor coercion? We examine this question using a panel dataset on contemporary slavery and land invasions in Brazil from 1995 to 2013. On average, a single land invasion reduces the number of enslaved workers by 15–20% in a municipality-year. To ground the empirics, we develop a formal model of how invasions alter landowners’ incentives to employ coerced labor. We further show that invasions do not increase the likelihood of government audits, indicating that their impact works directly through liberation and deterrence rather than expanded enforcement. The effect is strongest in Brazil’s Northeast, a large, poor, and rural region. These findings demonstrate how civil society action can complement weak state capacity in enforcing basic labor rights.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2026-06
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2026.102807