清國統治時期，台灣盛行「一田兩主」制度，一塊土地同時有大租戶與小租戶兩位地主。文獻上普遍認為，在大小租制度下，土地所有權不明確。財產權制度是市場經濟的基礎，若大小租使財產權不明確，農民投資土地的誘因會下降。本文說明大租的起源，解釋台灣為何盛行大小租制度，並推論大租比率高的地區是台灣較早開發之地。本文的實証結果發現,至少在日治初期之前，大租權存在對於財產權之負面影響並不大，並對此一結果提出解釋。

During Ch'ing rule, much of Taiwan’s land had two owners, ta-tsu (large rent right owners) and hsiao-tsu (small rent right owners). Property rights are essential for economic development, and it is often argued that a land with ta-tsu would be less well-protected. This study explains the origin of Taiwan’s ta-tsu rights system, and why it was widespread in Taiwan. We argue that an area with a larger ta-tsu ratio was cultivated earlier. Did the ta-tsu system have a negative effect on agricultural investment? Our analysis shows that the negative effect, if any, was relatively minor. We also propose an explanation for the result.