THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE NATIVE SMALL-SCALE AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERWAR KINGDOM OF ROMANIA

Abstract

In the historical context of the social disorganization in both rural and urban areas following the conclusion of military operations in the First World War, as well as the various tensions between the different factions and political structures at that time, the Agrarian Reform Law was drawn up, marked both by a series of benefits and by insurmountable deficiencies, given the context of its conception. The final outcome was a major change in the way the land fund was allocated and a shift in the balance of economic, social, and political powers of the Kingdom of Romania. In this respect, it should be noted that while the need for a fairer distribution of the land fund had been called for time and again, the oppressive political regimes that came to power only sought to preserve their status quo, the old de facto and de jure states. The 1918-1923 period was marked by a series of political and economic events with historical relevance, as shown by the extensive literature dealing with this topic, concentrating on coordinates such as: the establishment of the unitary national state in 1918 and the enlargement of the socio-economic patrimony of the Kingdom of Romania; the elimination of the census-type voting system; a firm commitment to the principles of democracy on the basis of a new fundamental organic law - the Constitution promulgated in 1923. In the opinion of many important authors, the crucial event of that era was the adoption of the legislation of the 1921 Agrarian Reform, namely the law-decrees with the definitive title.