The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa

The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa

Author: Stein Holden

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1136523545

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This book is the first systematic attempt to address emerging land markets and their implications for poverty, equity, and efficiency across a number of African countries. The high incidence of poverty and the need for increased agricultural productivity remain acute in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of secure land rights and a growing scarcity of land relative to the size of the population are becoming increasingly critical issues. Indeed, land issues in the region are high on the international policy agenda. Yet our knowledge about land tenure security and other rural factor markets (such as labor, oxen, manure, purchased inputs, and credit) is far from adequate to formulate sensible policies. The case studies in the book show that, while land markets and especially informal markets have been rapidly emerging in densely populated parts of Africa - and have generally been to the benefit of the poor--their functions remain imperfect. This is due to policy-induced tenure insecurity and the fragmentation of agricultural land. Applying rigorous quantitative analyses, the book provides a basis for taking into account the role of land markets in national land policies. All too often, the authors argue, land policies have been extreme, either prohibiting all land transactions or giving unrestricted freehold rights to a small elite at the expense of the poor. From the long experience in Asia, it is known that such policies are detrimental to both production efficiency and equity of land use. The authors argue that future policies in Africa should work with the markets. Regulations should be imposed only with careful testing that they are having the intended effects. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is a resource for teaching in developed and developing countries, as it provides both comprehensive reviews of the literature and detailed case studies. It is intended to facilitate the dialogue between researchers and policymakers, as well as inspire researchers to go further in their investigations and build an even stronger basis for good policies. The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa is the first publication in the new Environment for Development (EfD) book series. EfD books focus on research and applications in environmental and natural resource economics as they are relevant to poverty reduction and environmental problems in developing countries. The EfD book series is part of the EfD initiative. (www.environmentfordevelopment.org)


Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition

Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition

Author: Klaus Deininger

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 31

ISBN-13:

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The extent to which households should be allowed to transfer their land rights in post-socialist transition economies is of considerable policy interest. Deininger and Jin use data from Vietnam, a transition country that allows rental and sales of land use rights, to identify factors conducive to the development of land markets and to assess the extent to which land transfers enhance productive efficiency and transfer land to the poor. They find that activity in both rental and sales markets has increased rapidly, enhanced by the possession of long-term use rights and off-farm employment, and contributing to greater equity and efficiency of land use. While there is evidence for distress sales by households that experience a shock (death), the scope for such sales is reduced by well-functioning credit markets. Well-defined land rights and appropriate safety nets will thus help transition economies to realize the benefits from the operation of land markets.This paper - a product of Rural Development, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to assess the impact of land policy on equity and productive development.


Reforming Urban Land Policies and Institutions in Developing Countries

Reforming Urban Land Policies and Institutions in Developing Countries

Author: Catherine Farvacque

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 9780821320921

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This paper attempts to define and assess the various institutional and mechanical elements which constitute a land management system and which have a significant impact on the functioning of land markets. The assumption of this report is that the accumulation over time of different institutions and instruments, which have relfected different priorities and policies, has inhibited the efficient and equitalbe operation of land markets and that reforms of institutions and policies are now urgently needed. (Adapté du résumé des auteurs).


Patterns of Land Market Developments in Transition

Patterns of Land Market Developments in Transition

Author: Johan F. M. Swinnen

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Transition countries provide a natural experiment to study the development of land markets. This paper provides survey-evidence of the variation in the development of land markets, identifies a series of patterns, and provides a set of hypotheses to explain these variations in land market development.


Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition

Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition

Author: Klaus W. Deininger

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13:

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The extent to which households should be allowed to transfer their land rights in post-socialist transition economies is of considerable policy interest. The authors use data from Vietnam, a transition country that allows rental and sales of land use rights, to identify factors conducive to the development of land markets and to assess the extent to which land transfers enhance productive efficiency and transfer land to the poor. They find that activity in both rental and sales markets has increased rapidly, enhanced by the possession of long-term use rights and off-farm employment, and contributing to greater equity and efficiency of land use. While there is evidence for distress sales by households that experience a shock (death), the scope for such sales is reduced by well-functioning credit markets. Well-defined land rights and appropriate safety nets will thus help transition economies to realize the benefits from the operation of land markets.


Urban Land Markets

Urban Land Markets

Author: Somik V. Lall

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-10-07

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 1402088620

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As urbanization progresses at a remarkable pace, policy makers and analysts come to understand and agree on key features that will make this process more efficient and inclusive, leading to gains in the welfare of citizens. Drawing on insights from economic geography and two centuries of experience in developed countries, the World Bank’s World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography emphasizes key aspects that are fundamental to ensuring an efficient rural-urban transformation. Critical among these are land, as the most important resource, and well-functioning land markets. Regardless of the stage of urbanization, flexible and forward-looking institu- ons that help the efficient functioning of land markets are the bedrock of succe- ful urbanization strategies. In particular, institutional arrangements for allocating land rights and for managing and regulating land use have significant implica- ons for how cities deliver agglomeration economies and improve the welfare of their residents. Property rights, well-functioning land markets, and the management and servicing of land required to accommodate urban expansion and provide trunk infrastructure are all topics that arise as regions progress from incipient urbani- tion to medium and high density.


Land Institutions and Land Markets

Land Institutions and Land Markets

Author: Klaus W. Deininger

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13:

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November 1998 Secure property rights to land and well-functioning land rental and sales markets are essential for creating investment incentives, improving the allocation of land, and developing financial markets. Yet regulatory restrictions on land rental and sales and regulatory frameworks providing inadequate tenure security are common. This paper looks at the impact of imperfections in other factor markets and the costs and benefits of government intervention to improve the security of property rights and the functioning of land markets and draws conclusions about land policy issues. In agrarian societies land serves as the main means not only for generating a livelihood but often also for accumulating wealth and transferring it between generations. How land rights are assigned therefore determines households' ability to generate subsistence and income, their social and economic status (and in many cases their collective identity), their incentive to exert nonobservable effort and make investments, and often their ability to access financial markets or to make arrangements for smoothing consumption and income. With imperfections in other markets, the institutions governing the allocation of land rights and the functioning of land markets will have implications for overall efficiency as well as equity. The authors examine how property rights in land evolve from a situation of land abundance. They discuss factors affecting the costs and benefits of individual land rights and highlight the implications of tenure security for investment incentives. They also review factors affecting participation in land sales and rental markets, particularly the characteristics of the agricultural production process, labor supervision cost, credit access, the risk characteristics of an individual's asset portfolio, and the transaction costs associated with market participation. These factors will affect land sales and rental markets differently. Removing obstacles to the smooth functioning of land rental markets and taking measures to enhance potential tenants' endowments and bargaining power can significantly increase both the welfare of the poor and the overall efficiency of resource allocation. Drawing on their conceptual discussion, the authors draw policy conclusions about the transition from communal to individual and more formal land rights, steps that might be taken to improve the functioning of land sales and rental markets, and the scope for redistributive land reform. This paper--a product of Rural Development, Development Research Group--was prepared as background for the forthcoming Handbook on Agricultural Economics. The authors may be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected].


The Development of Property Taxation in Economies in Transition

The Development of Property Taxation in Economies in Transition

Author: Jane H. Malme

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 9780821349830

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This book details the context within which policy decisions and objectives for the property tax system are made in the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe. It shows how these policy decisions evolve as a part of the transitional reforms still in process. This book offers the chance to review the experiences of transitional countries in initiating and implementing fiscal instruments during a decade of enormous transformations. The research for the case studies, included in this book, was sponsored by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.