Athirdcharcteristicofsharecontractsisthattherentalpercentagemayvaryamongdifferentcropsinonecontract(seesamplee).Asisimpliedbythetheoryofsharetenancy,therentalpercentageisoland,thesharingpercentageexpressedintermsofasingle(weightedtimeaverage)rentalpercentage,uniformforallcrops,(seecontractsampled),ifatenantissubjecttodismissalatanytimeintheeventofpoorperformance,theuseofoneuniformrentalpercentageforcropsharvestedatdifferentseasonswouldbelikelyspecifiedduration,andthat,whenmultiplepercentagesarefoundinaleasewithindefiniteduration,auniformpercentageisusuallyusedfordifferentcropsharvestedinthesameseason(seecontractsamplee).
Wemaysummarizethecharacteristicsofsharecontractsbyquotingtheobservationmadebytwowriters-whowerecriticaloftenantfarminginChina:
Underthesystemofsharerent,theyieldsaftereachharvestaretobesharedaccordingtocert,thetenantisrequi,thetenantisevenrequiredtofurnishfarmingequipment……p……Besidestheabove,theonlyaffairofmanagementoverwhichthelandown[16]
[1].,FarmOwnershipandTenancyinChina(Shanghai:NationalChristianCouncil,1927).
[2].NationalGovernment,StatisticsDepartment,StatisticalAnalysisofTenancySystemsinChina(China:ChengChungBookStore,1942),www.youxs.org.
[3].Pe-YuChangandYin-YuenWang,QuestionsofFarmTenancyinChina(Chungking:CommercialPress,1943),www.youxs.org.
[4].NationalGovernment,StatisticalAnalysis,www.youxs.org.
[5].Seeibid.,www.youxs.org;andChangandWang,QuestionsofFarmTenancy,www.youxs.org.
[6].DepartmentofRealEstates,ChinaEconomicYearbook(China,1936),www.youxs.org.
[7].ExecutiveYuan,ChangesinLandRights(China,1942),www.youxs.org.
[8].Unfortunately,Ihavenotbeenabletofinddatathatwouldconfirmorrefutethisstatement.
[9].Notethatwithasharecontractthelandownernotonlysharesthepossiblelossinabadyear,butalsothegainofagoodharvestwhichwillreducetheriskpremiumbyafraction.
[10].SeetheUniversityofNanking,RentalSystemsinFourProvinces(Nanking,1936),www.youxs.org.
[11].NationalGovernment,StatisticalAnalysis,www.youxs.org.
[12].ChangandWang,QuestionsofFarmTenancy,www.youxs.org.
[13].Ibid.,www.youxs.org.
[14].Sa,accordingtoeconomictheory,tenantinputsarestipulatedinasharecontract,Ididnotmentionthestipulationofmultiplecropplantationsbecauseonlyonemutuallyagreedproductwasassumed.
[15].www.youxs.org(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1930),www.youxs.org.
[16].ChangandWang,QuestionsofFarmTenancy,www.youxs.org(Shanghai:CommercialPress,1936);Chi-MingChiao,ASocialandEconomicStudyofFarmVillagesinChina(Nanking:UniversityofNanking,1938),;andChinaEconomicResearchDepartment,SourceMaterialsofRecentChineseAgriculturalHistory,1912-27(Peking:UnitedBookStore,1957),www.youxs.org.
www.youxs.org
AninvestigationconductedinChina(1934),coveringatotalofninety-threeprefecturesineightprovinces,showsthatthedis-tributionofleasedurationswasasfollows:29percentofthetenantcontractswereindefinite(thatis,unspecifiedandusuallyterminableaftereveryharvest),25percentannualleases,27per-centfromthreetotenyears,8percentfromtentotwentyyears,and11percentwereperpetualleases.[1],astipulatedleasedurationmeansonlythattenancymayno,asthefrequencyofshort-termleaseshasbeenusedtoillustratetheturnoverrateoftenancy,itshoul[2]
Intheliteratureonlandtenure,twoargumentshavebeenmonlyusedinsupportoftheallegedinefficiencyofleasedurationsoflessthantenyears.[3]Oneofthemclaimsthatshortdura,althoughundesirableforthetenant,mayprovideastimulustofarmingactivity.[4]Anowerthanonownerfarms;norhasanyevidencebeenofferedtoshowthat,inChina,productivityundertenancyvarieswiththedurationofaleasingcontract.