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Institutions and growth in Mato Grosso: land market and transports shaping divergent paths between the North, Center-South, and Southwest

Instituições e crescimento em Mato Grosso: mercado de terras e transportes moldando trajetórias divergentes entre o Norte, o Centro-Sul e o Sudoeste
Instituciones y crecimiento en Mato Grosso: mercado de tierras y transportes configurando trayectorias divergentes entre el Norte, Centro-Sur y Suroeste
Institutions et croissance dans le Mato Grosso : marché foncier et transports façonnant des trajectoires divergentes entre le Nord, le Centre-Sud et le Sud-ouest
Alexandro Rodrigues Ribeiro e Daves de Azevedo Cordova

Resumos

Este estudo analisa as trajetórias divergentes de crescimento agrícola nas Mesorregiões de Mato Grosso, demonstrando que a excepcional expansão econômica do Norte não pode ser explicada apenas pelo aumento da terra, mas deriva de duas instituições: o Mercado de Terras e os Transportes. Utilizando regressão MQ2E e análise demográfica de dados dos Censos (1970-2006), o estudo mostra que as mudanças institucionais implementadas durante o Regime Militar brasileiro (1964-1985) foram determinantes fundamentais dessa diferenciação regional. O estabelecimento de um mercado de terras formal através do Estatuto da Terra de 1964 e o desenvolvimento dos transportes, particularmente a rodovia BR-163, reduziram os custos de transação e produção no Norte. Essas instituições possibilitaram uma incorporação de terras 160,9% maior em comparação com a base de referência do Centro-Sul e atraíram a população em idade ativa (PIA) a taxas duas vezes superiores às de outras regiões. A análise adapta o modelo de crescimento neoclássico de Solow para demonstrar como essa estrutura institucional gerou ganhos de produtividade através do aumento da terra produtiva por trabalhador.

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Introduction

1This article analyzes the trajectory of agricultural economic growth in the cities of Mato Grosso's Center-South, Southwest, and North Mesoregions, as shown in the map above. The North Mesoregion has experienced a significant increase in production relative to the others, despite the first two having a longer history of occupation.

Map - Mesoregions of Mato Grosso

Map - Mesoregions of Mato Grosso

Source: IBGE, Malha Municipal – Brasil and Mato Grosso (2024). Elaborated by the authors.

2A preliminary analysis of such conditions can be read by Cordova (2022), who has demonstrated that the institutional changes implemented in the 1960s have been directed to that region due to preoccupations other than economic ones. The public policies by the Central Government allowed the institution of a land market facilitated in that mesoregion, which brought an economically active population with the state presence, allowing the technical occupation of Cerrado due to the advances in the technology of production and financing.

3These policies manifested as new institutions, as defined by North (2018), which lowered the costs of transacting and producing. The groundwork for later institutional developments in the 1990s was laid during the 1960s, with a primary focus on establishing a formal land market and improving transportation infrastructure.

4An orthodox proposition on how institutions foster economic growth can be found in Acemoglu et al. (2005). The authors demonstrate that good political institutions reinforce property rights and enhance market efficiency by creating incentives to invest in physical or human capital and to improve technology. Consequently, political institutions and resource allocation enable economic institutions to achieve better economic performance and improve resource distribution in the future (2004, p. 2-9). An alternative, heterodox proposal is found in Zysman (1994), who states that the institutional structure conditions market operations and policy implementation, thereby establishing a particular growth trajectory based on the nation's integration into the global economy (1994, p. 279-280).

5In the concrete case of institutional changes in Mato Grosso, Acemoglu's formulation is present due to the state action formulated from top to bottom to alter economic institutions. The resulting Land Market and Transportation infrastructure reduced transactional and production costs, as a direct result of the Military Regime's policies. A new relationship between political and economic institutions was established, crystallized in new laws, government agencies, and state plans, all intended to drive economic efficiency for the purpose of territorial integration.

6Technological progress cannot, in this case, assume a central role in growth differences between regions because the occupation pattern is essentially agricultural and related to the land market. Therefore, models like Romer (1986), which relate productivity gains with knowledge by the investment function of the firm, cannot be adequate to explain economic growth.

7Likewise, post-Keynesian models do not seem adjusted to the analysis because the banking sector and investments do not present themselves as essentials to economic growth, at least at the moment analyzed. Thus, models like Kim and Lavoie (2016) do not relate themselves to economic growth in the institutional changes in the Mato Grosso state during the Military Government. However, some of its components may be significant, such as animal spirits and utility capacity, known as the expansion of the agricultural frontier.

8Solow neoclassical model (1956) may be the one that links institutional changes to productivity gains, therefore uniting institutions and growth in Mato Grosso's state. According to the model, different growth rates depend on different saving rates, which are comprehended as more significant rates of capital by workers. However, the essential productivity factors are not machines or equipment but land; therefore, responsiveness to increased productivity lands per worker allows us to assess this hypothesis.

9Following the Methodology, the Results section presents the regression analysis. The discussion then demonstrates that the accelerated agricultural growth in the North Mesoregion cannot be explained solely by an increase in land use. Instead, a connection is established to the government's development programs, positing that this differential growth path was driven by the creation of two institutions: Land Market and Transportations. The formation and impact of these institutions are analyzed, and the theoretical mechanism by which they fostered economic growth is subsequently explained. The paper concludes with the Final considerations.

Methodology

  • 1 The data and code used for the analysis and plotting in this study are publicly available in the Gi (...)

10Regression analysis was employed to determine whether institutional changes were responsible for the observed catching-up movement between the mesoregions. This method allows for an examination of how production responds to the factors previously introduced in each region of interest. The data for this analysis was obtained from the Agricultural and Demographic Censuses, as detailed in the following table1.

Frame - Variables used in regression

Variable

Measured in

Years disponible

Form of obtaining

Source

Independent Variables

Production

R$ 1,000.00 from 2010

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Temporary Tillage

Hectare

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Permanent Tillage

Hectare

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Totall Tillage

Hectare

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Sum of Temporary and Permanent Tillage

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Dependent Variables

Occupied People

Unity

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Productivity Land Unutilized

Hectare

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1995

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Planted Pastures

Hectare

1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Natural Pastures

Hectare

1980, 1985, 1995 and 20065

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Annual Investment

R$ 1,000.00 from 2010

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 2006

Extraction from Census

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Capital Stock

R$ 1,000.00 from 2010

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 2006

Calculated as:
Valor dos Bens Agropecuária total - Valor dos bens terra

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

WAP

Unity

1970, 1980, 1991, 2010, and 2022

Calculated as the agregated 15 to 65 years old to the years of other variables as an exponential function

BRASIL. IBGE, 2024b and 2024c

TFP

 

1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1995 and 2006

Calculated as production minus supplies Gasques and Conceição (1997, p. 18)

BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a

Elaborated by the authors.

11The dataset was constructed primarily from the Agricultural and Demographic Censuses. Two variables required specific calculation: Working-Age People (WAP), which was estimated using the exponential function outlined by Weinstein and Pillai (2015, pp. 253-254), and Total Factor Productivity (TFP), defined as production growth not attributable to input increases, per Gasques and Conceição (1997, p. 18). To facilitate interpretation of the results in terms of percentage changes, all relevant variables were converted to their natural logarithms.

12The analysis employed a two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression model to account for the likely endogeneity of land use. Dummy variables for the North and Southwest mesoregions were included as controls. In the first stage, Total Tillage was instrumented using exogenous production factors (TFP, WAP, investment, and capital stock). In the second stage, the logarithm of Production was regressed on the instrumented values of Total Tillage.

13Given the unavailability of consistent time-series data from recent Agricultural Censuses, the quantitative analysis was complemented with a demographic study. This secondary analysis of population dynamics provides an alternative method for assessing the drivers of production growth and corroborating the paper's main hypothesis.

Results

14A simple model using only the logarithm of Total Tillage and year dummies can explain 82.58% of the variance in production. While this model performs well statistically, it fails to answer the core research question: why did production increase more in one region than another.

15To address this, a two-stage approach is necessary. The first stage, presented in Table 1, explains the use of land, Total Tillage, by examining its underlying drivers. By controlling standard production factors, labor (WAP), technology (TFP), and investment (Annual Investment and Capital Stock), it becomes possible to isolate the unique geographical contribution of each Mesoregion. The second stage then uses these predicted land-use values to explain the final production output. This method allows the analysis to move beyond simple correlation and explore the institutional causes of regional growth differences.

Table - First Stage: Explaining Land Use to Isolate Regional Effects

(1)

lTotalTillage

lTFP

0.389***

(0.0520)

lWAP

0.459***

(0.121)

lAnnualInvestment

0.246***

(0.0512)

lCapitalStock

0.152***

(0.0503)

North

0.959***

(0.318)

Southweast

-0.0563

(0.333)

year1980

0.186

(0.154)

year1985

-0.175

(0.166)

year1995

0

(.)

year2006

0.887***

(0.238)

Constant

-2.920**

(1.181)

Observations

72

16Standard errors in parentheses

17* p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01

18Prob>chi2 = 0.0000

Source: BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a, BRASIL. IBGE, 2024b and 2024c. Elaborated by the authors.

19 The first-stage regression results indicate that TFP, WAP, Annual Investment, and Capital Stock are all statistically significant predictors of Total Tillage. The coefficients, interpreted as elasticities, show that for every 1% increase in each factor, the amount of land under cultivation increases by 0.459% for WAP, 0.389% for TFP, 0.246% for Annual Investment, and 0.152% for Capital Stock.

20Crucially, the dummy variable for the North mesoregion is also highly significant. This finding suggests that even after controlling standard economic inputs, unique institutional structures in the North were driving the expansion of agricultural land. Conversely, the coefficient for the Southwest is not statistically significant, meaning the model does not fully capture the distinct factors influencing land use in that particular region.

Table - Second Stage: Translating Land Expansion into Production Growth

(1)

lProduction

lTotalTillage

0.883***

(0.0387)

Constant

2.213***

(0.394)

Observations

72

21Standard errors in parentheses

22* p < 0.10, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01

23Prob>chi2 = 0.0000

Source: BRASIL. IPEA, 2024a, BRASIL. IBGE, 2024b and 2024c. Elaborated by the authors.

24 The second-stage regression shows that there are decreasing returns of scale, as the coefficient of 0.883 indicates that a 1% increase in land use results in a 0.883% increase in production. Notwithstanding this, the results from the first stage are crucial for understanding the regional differences. The coefficient for the North (0.959) reveals that, after controlling for all other factors, being in this mesoregion increased the amount of land under cultivation by approximately 160.9% compared to the Center-South baseline.

25This means that while land itself had diminishing returns, the institutional framework in the North enabled a far more extensive use of it. This massive, institutionally driven expansion of land placed the North on a higher overall production function than the Center-South, leading to its differential growth path.

Dependence ratio between 1991 and 2022 Census

26The fact that the available data presents a sequential break, which poses difficulties for the estimation, authorizes the analysis by complementary means. The demographic data provided by the Demographic Censuses demonstrate the change in the age profile of the population of the mesoregions, which leads to a transfer of dependence ratio from young to old-age.

Frame - Mesoregional dependence ratio in Mato Grosso

Mesoregion

Dependence ratio

North

Center-South

South-west

1991

Young

0,6215698

0,6425889

0,6561723

Old-age

0,0290088

0,0508128

0,0475045

Total

0,6505787

0,6934017

0,7036768

2000

Young

0,5320545

0,465723

0,5060364

Old-age

0,0450427

0,0596252

0,0599984

Total

0,5770972

0,5253481

0,5660349

2010

Young

0,3933562

0,3467518

0,3826598

Old-age

0,0618366

0,0801238

0,0821162

Total

0,4551928

0,4268756

0,464776

2022

Young

0,3396866

0,308368

0,3047735

Old-age

0,0895622

0,1258327

0,1169723

Total

0,4292488

0,4342007

0,4217458

Source: BRASIL. IBGE, 2024a e 2024b. Elaborated by the authors.

27 This is an expected fact due to the demographic transition, as presented by Vasconcelos (2012, p. 543), because, already in 1970, all Brazilian regions were in this process because the fall in mortality, especially childish, was generalized and fecundity started to fall. Therefore, the population is expected to grow with an increase in life expectancy.

28 Cunha (2006, p.93) described demographic dynamics in the 1980s, which have installed themselves in areas including the North region:

Until the 1980s, the state could be broadly divided into two portions: the North, comprising an area of greater demographic dynamism over the previous two decades; and the South, forming a more consolidated area with lower rates of demographic growth. Indeed, while localities in the far North, such as Alta Floresta, Colíder, and Alto Teles Pires, grew at extremely high rates in the 1980s, this did not occur in the regions further South, with the exception of Cuiabá and Rondonópolis, which, even in the 1990s, still showed some momentum, growing at rates exceeding 2% per year. In fact, these two cases are microregions where important urban centers are located—the state's main cities—which have greater economic diversification, not to mention that the former concentrates practically the entire state administrative apparatus as the capital of Mato Grosso (...)

29 The total dependence ratio falls during the time with available data, which demonstrates the transfer pointed out previously:

Frame - Dependence ratio between Census

The dependence ratio between the Census

North

Center-South

South-west

1991-2000

Young

-14,40%

-27,52%

-22,88%

Old-age

55,27%

17,34%

26,30%

Total

-11,29%

-24,24%

-19,56%

2000-2010

Young

-26,07%

-25,55%

-24,38%

Old-age

37,28%

34,38%

36,86%

Total

-21,12%

-18,74%

-17,89%

2010-2022

Young

-13,64%

-11,07%

-20,35%

Old-age

44,84%

57,05%

42,45%

Total

-5,70%

1,72%

-9,26%

Source: BRASIL. IBGE, 2024a and 2024b. Elaborated by the authors.

30 The old-age dependence ratio shows that Center-South is on the brink of ending its demographic bonus period due to its constant increase that raises the total dependence ratio demonstrated by the 2022 Census. Despite being probable that in the next Census, this situation will affect other mesoregions, especially North, the previous data shows a fall between 2000 and 2010, which makes a particular point to the analysis of demographic transition in the North mesoregion because it is generated by an increase more than proportional in WAP, as in Frame 4:

Frame - Increase of working age population between Census

Mesoregion

Increase of working age population

1991-2000

2000-2010

2010-2022

North

65,06%

44,08%

31,23%

Center-South

30,03%

20,26%

11,94%

South-west

29,09%

23,06%

14,96%

Source: BRASIL. IBGE, 2024a and 2024b. Elaborated by the authors.

31 Therefore, the North Mesoregion attracts and maintains its population due to the economic activities more than the other regions showed. The relative numbers demonstrate that this comparison is not less than two times the Center-South and close to that in the Southwest. Therefore, the catching-up movement had installed itself during the Military government due to the institutional change, as showed before, and generated a demographic differentiation in the North mesoregion, especially between Center-South.

32 This is why, when GDP data has been decomposed since 2001, it has been possible to achieve differential growth in mesoregions across Mato Grosso, as in the map bellow:

Graph - Real GDP across the 21st century (2002 values)

Graph - Real GDP across the 21st century (2002 values)

Source: IBGE (2024c). Elaborated by authors.

33The average growth achieves Chinese levels in the North and North East in Frame 5, which is not included in this essay, and these numbers are next and a little more, respectively, than the average increase in the Center-South mesoregion. Southwest achieves a slightly higher level, primarily based on the data of the last two years available, 2020 and 2021, and the Southeast is close to 7%.

Frame - Economic growth during the 21st century (Real GDP in a 2002 basis)

Mesoregion

Increase

Center-South

4,77%

Northeast

9,47%

North

9,07%

Southeast

6,96%

Southwest

5,26%

Total

7,25%

Source: BRASIL. IBGE, 2024c. Elaborated by the authors.

34The quantitative results reveal a crucial insight: the North Mesoregion's exceptional growth trajectory is not merely a function of land expansion. This points to another explanatory factor. Therefore, this paper posits that institutional changes were the fundamental cause. The analysis will now turn to the public policies that facilitated a new Land Market in the region, which in turn attracted WAP and created the conditions for the region's economic take-off.

35

Institutional changes in Mato Grosso

36Douglas North defines institutions as the mechanisms for executing the rules of economic comportment to decrease uncertainty by reducing transactional and production costs (NORTH, 2018, pp. 13-17). Nevertheless, they can change what occurs step by step because the actors perceive that political and economic organizations can achieve better results by altering the array (2018, pp. 20-21).

37The time between the decay of gold activities in the mid-18th century and the beginning of the institutional changes in Mato Grosso state in the 1960s is a period of relative lack of economic activities due to the rise and fall of successive economic cycles, such as the rubber, mate, and ipecac, as described by Faria et alli (2015, pp. 328-339). Notwithstanding, since the 1960s, an institutional change has been seen as a direct move toward occupying empty spaces in the national territory.

38State actions took their place through a public and private alignment since that decade, despite some previous movements that permitted the occupation of those lands and the increment of production. As Cunha (2006, p. 88-89) wrote, the Centro-Oeste region modified its productive structure with governmental actions in the 1960s in a national integration program made specially by programs and agencies, such as SUDECO in 1967, whose instruments began to be sawn in the 1970s:

Frame - Chronological appearance of organizations in the Brazilian Amazon and Centro-Oeste

INSTITUTION

YEAR

FUNCTION

BASA – Banco da Amazônia S.A. *

1942

Credit bank of Amazon

FBC - Fundação Brasil Central

1943

To explore and colonize zones between the Araguaia and Xingu rivers and Central Brazil.

SPVEA - Superintendência do Plano de Valorização Econômica da Amazônia

1953

To develop regional production and exchange relations.

CODECO - Comissão de Desenvolvimento do Centro-Oeste

1961

To prepare and give subsidies to the creation of the law of SUDECO.

SUDAM-– Superintendência de desenvolvimento da Amazônia Legal

1966

TO elaborate the Amazon Economic Valorization Plan and coordinate or promote its execution, directly or by agreement with agencies or public entities, including mixed economic societies, or contracts with persons and private entities.

SUDECO – Superintendência de desenvolvimento do Centro Oeste

1967

Studies and diagnosys to regional programs. Replaced FBC and created Polocentro in 975.

PIN – Programa de Integração Nacional

1970

Construction of Amazon highways – Transamazonica, Cuiabá-Santarém.

PROTERRA - Programa de Redistribuição de Terras e de Estímulo à Agroindústria do Norte e Nordeste

1971

Expropriation of excellent Properties, with compensation to posterior sell to small and medium farmers; credit concession to land acquisition; fixation of minimum prices to exportation products.

POLAMAZÔNIA Programa de Polos Agropecuários e Agrominerais da Amazônia

1974

To promote integrated agriculture, agroindustry, forestry, and minerals utilization in the determined program areas.

POLOCENTRO Programa de Desenvolvimento dos Cerrados

1975

To promote the occupation of selected areas with Cerrado predominance.

PROMAT – Programa Especial de Desenvolvimento de Mato Grosso

1977

Directed to the State Planning Secretary. Arise with state Division; it would guide budget and resources distribution between 1979 and 1988.

Source: Ribeiro . Translated by authors.

39SUDECO, created in 1967, was the Military Regime's key instrument for integrating and occupying the sparsely populated areas of the region. This policy aligned with the goals of the First National Development Plan (I PND, 1972-1974), which sought to foster national integration, create a self-sustaining internal market, and decentralize economic activity. For the Centro-Oeste, the focus was on developing agriculture and mining to complement the main economic axis of São Paulo–Rio de Janeiro–Belo Horizonte.

40To achieve these goals, SUDECO launched major initiatives like PIN and PROTERRA. The first focused on infrastructure, most notably the construction of the Trans-Amazonian (BR-230) and Cuiabá-Santarém (BR-163) highways. The Second National Development Plan (II PND, 1975-1979) identified the Amazon and Central-West as challenges to be overcome due to their poor soil quality, which demanded significant investment in research.

41These development efforts were driven especially by the Central Government, as the state government of Mato Grosso was in a weakened position from 1950 to 1964 and had lost its ability to influence land affairs. The federal government's most significant intervention was the creation of CODEMAT in 1968, which revived the state's colonization policy. Therefore, the state's economic dynamism can be attributed to these federal actions.

42These public policies often intersected with the interests of private business groups, such as the colonization companies INDECO and SINOP, which founded the cities of Alta Floresta and Sinop, respectively, according to Santi (2016, without page). The projects followed a model of state-oriented private colonization that relied on the formation the Land Market. As Ribeiro (2013) points out, this allowed for the acquisition of unclaimed lands at nominal prices, enabling the formation of large-scale productive enterprises. These institutional changes in the land market made future productivity gains possible.

43The Land Statute of 1964 (Law nº 4.504) was a pivotal piece of legislation, creating new modalities for land acquisition other than direct purchase. This law updated the Land Law of 1850 and gave preferential access to those with connections to the state, according to Ribeiro (2013, p.59). Barrozo (apud Ribeiro, 2013, p. 62-63) demonstrates the disposal of large sums of land and capital to entrepreneurs, with that policy directing the investment to larger companies in the process of suffocation of traditional occupants of the lands.

44This government attention was specifically directed toward the North mesoregion to establish new colonization enterprises, while older, more established regions were not prioritized. The state intervened to overcome the economic obstacles posed by the informal and non-capitalist structures prevalent in these areas. These required projects designed for the region's specific characteristics, involving the participation of local economic actors—an inclusive approach that was not always possible under the authoritarian regime.

45

New institutions: Land Market

46The institutional framework for Mato Grosso's Land Market has historical roots, marked by weak state control and subsequent federal intervention. According to Moreno (1999, pp. 11-13), an early attempt at organization was the 1949 Land Code, which was modified in 1951 to validate and expand the limits for legal land acquisition and colonization. This period, however, was marked by the indiscriminate sale of vacant public lands, turning colonization into a profitable venture for concessionaires who often engaged in land speculation. This situation highlighted the state's lack of control over land access and its weakness against oligarchic pressures, which in turn prompted significant investment from the Federal Government in the Amazonian region of the state.

47For this reason, the establishment of a formal Land Market became an essential component of the national strategy for the Amazon and Centro-Oeste. As Joanoni Neto and Guimarães Neto (2019, pp. 112-113) note, this market was used during the Médici administration (1969-1974) to stimulate the settlement of rural workers, thereby alleviating land-value pressures in southern Brazil.

48This policy of granting preferential access to land to those with close ties to the state emerged because a formal agrarian reform proved difficult to execute. As Heck (2019, p. 44) wrote, this failure was hindered by a lack of implementation, an over-reliance on taxation as the main form of land release, and the state's lack of capacity to administer it effectively. This ultimately led to a market-based solution for land distribution during the 1960s and 1970s, that were implemented in the colonization projects.

New institutions: Transports (highways)

49Alongside the creation of Land Market, another critical institutional change was the development of transportation infrastructure. Highways connected previously isolated areas to regional and national economies, allowing traditional subsistence practices to be replaced by modern, capitalistic ones. This integration eroded the chronic isolation that had long challenged Mato Grosso’s economy.

50This focus on road connections during the Military Regime continued a policy path initiated during the Juscelino Kubitschek administration. By breaking this isolation, the new highways integrated Mato Grosso with the rest of the country.

51Transportation networks can function as new institutions by establishing new rules of economic engagement. In this analysis, transportation and the Land Market are the two key institutions for which data are available to analyze as sources of change. The BR-163 highway functioned as a transformative institution, especially in the regions north of the state capital. As Bernardes (2005, p. 18) shows, this highway fundamentally altered the outflow of agricultural goods by reducing transportation time and transaction costs. Furthermore, as Fortuna (2005, p. 90) stated, it enabled the opening of new agricultural frontiers with soils suitable for mechanization.

52Spatially analyzing the distribution of federal highways in Mato Grosso in conjunction with the locations and temporal implementation of colonization projects, as provided in Map 2, offers a robust methodology for discerning patterns in their development and for subsequent analysis of associated economic growth trajectories:

Graph - Cities of colonization projects (Land Market expression) with Highways

Graph - Cities of colonization projects (Land Market expression) with Highways

Source: DNIT (2024) and IBGE (2023). Elaborated by the author with Python language program.

53Hence, transportation infrastructure is crucial for diminishing transactional and production costs and facilitating coordination among economic agents (North, 2018, pp. 13-17). Within the context of this study, the BR-163 highway was the primary driver of these effects, particularly by operating in conjunction with the Land Market established in the colonization projects.

Economic growth originated from institutional changes

54The definition of property rights, as land titles and enforcement of property boundaries in Mato Grosso's Land Market, and the institutional capacity to prevent violations are the link between production factors and economic growth. In Mato Grosso, Transport expansion has reduced geographic isolation, lowered the transactional costs of monitoring property boundaries and enforcing land rights through improved access to legal institutions. North (1989, p. 1323-1324) argues that this reduction in uncertainty increases productivity.

55The establishment of Land Market under the Land Statute of 1964 (Law n° 4,504) reduced economic uncertainty. This statute updated principles from the Land Law of 1850, and its implementation by the Central Government made land transactions more feasible. The new framework lowered the financial cost of acquiring land, which in turn allowed owners to better capitalize on their land's productivity. As Cunha (2006) and Ribeiro (2013) noted, these changes also lowered transactional costs and addressed long-standing equity concerns.

56Therefore, Solow neoclassical model (1956) was be the one that links institutional changes to productivity gains, therefore uniting institutions and growth in Mato Grosso's state. According to the model, different growth rates depend on different saving rates, which are comprehended as more significant rates of capital by workers, as the estimations made.

Final considerations

57The evidence presented in this paper, despite data limitations from breaks in historical series, supports the conclusion that institutional changes were the primary drivers of the economic growth movement in the North Mesoregion of Mato Grosso. The policies initiated by the Military Regime provided the foundation for two new, transformative institutions directed at this region: the Land Market and Transports infrastructure.

58These changes reduced uncertainty by lowering transaction costs, as theorized by North (1989), which in turn generated productivity gains. The Solow model (1956), adapted for this context, effectively describes this process, where superior growth rates resulted from large increments of productive land per worker. In essence, by lowering transportation costs and providing a framework for enforcing transactions, the very structure of the economy was altered, leading to the emergence of new, more efficient institutions.

59The regression analysis, however, revealed erratic results for the Southwest region, suggesting that the Mesoregional scale may obscure important local dynamics. This points to a clear direction for future researches, while further attention can be given to the components of the institutional changes.

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Bibliografia

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Notas

1 The data and code used for the analysis and plotting in this study are publicly available in the GitHub repository: https://github.com/Econometric-data/Revista-Espaco-e-Sociedade.

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Índice das ilustrações

Título Map - Mesoregions of Mato Grosso
Créditos Source: IBGE, Malha Municipal – Brasil and Mato Grosso (2024). Elaborated by the authors.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/espacoeconomia/docannexe/image/32230/img-1.jpg
Ficheiro image/jpeg, 167k
Título Graph - Real GDP across the 21st century (2002 values)
Créditos Source: IBGE (2024c). Elaborated by authors.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/espacoeconomia/docannexe/image/32230/img-2.jpg
Ficheiro image/jpeg, 90k
Título Graph - Cities of colonization projects (Land Market expression) with Highways
Créditos Source: DNIT (2024) and IBGE (2023). Elaborated by the author with Python language program.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/espacoeconomia/docannexe/image/32230/img-3.jpg
Ficheiro image/jpeg, 231k
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Para citar este artigo

Referência eletrónica

Alexandro Rodrigues Ribeiro e Daves de Azevedo Cordova, «Institutions and growth in Mato Grosso: land market and transports shaping divergent paths between the North, Center-South, and Southwest »Espaço e Economia [Online], 30 | 2025, posto online no dia 14 janeiro 2026, consultado o 13 abril 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/espacoeconomia/32230; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/15il9

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Autores

Alexandro Rodrigues Ribeiro

Professor na Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso – Faculdade de Economia. Doutor em Economia. http://lattes.cnpq.br/0006793524224802. E-mail: ivalex_6@hotmail.com

Daves de Azevedo Cordova

Auditor Público Externo no Tribunal de Contas de Mato Grosso. Mestrando na Faculdade de Economia da Universidade Federal de Mato. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/2785354956856869 . E-mail:

daves.cordova@gmail.com

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Direitos de autor

CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0

The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) may be subject to specific use terms.

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