Mugabe's land grabs

In today's news, Mugabe has made it "legal" to steal any land he wants, with no right to appeal. Under a pure land rent system, the only income a government can claim is a fraction of the market value of the bare land. Land that can be stolen at any time has almost zero market value. So land rent would make a kleptocracy economically impossible.

Of course, a clever dictator would get around that by giving land to his friends, and taxing them. But land rent has another stark advantage: whatever the leader does, he cannot hide from land rent. Land rent provides a simple, clear and objective index of the value of a government:

• simple because one index says it all
• clear because it is easy to measure
• objective because land rent is based on market values, not government whim

If Mugabe makes the land more valuable, his policy is proven right and the rest of us can stop complaining. But if the land becomes less valuable, there is clear proof that the guy is either incompetent of a crook, and other nations can move in and kick him out. Which is a topic for another day...