Liability of Foreinness in Large-Scale Agricultural Land Acquisitions: Examination of Conflict Between Investors and Local Communities

This study investigates which investors are more susceptible to conflict with local communities in large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for agricultural projects. Drawing from the literatures on liability of foreignness and political regimes, this study argues that conflict is more likely for foreign investors than domestic investors due to unfamiliar institutions of host countries, but the association is weaker for investors from democratic countries because of pressures for higher standards of stakeholder engagement in their home countries. This difference between investors is amplified when local institutions are complex. Analysis of 1,471 global agricultural LSLAs supports this argument.