The Profits of Power

The Profits of Power
Author: Christopher Udry
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

We examine the impact of ambiguous and contested land rights on investment and productivity in agricultural in Akwapim, Ghana. We show that individuals who hold powerful positions in a local political hierarchy have more secure tenure rights, and that as a consequence they invest more in land fertility and have substantially higher output. The intensity of investments on different plots cultivated by a given individual correspond to that individual's security of tenure over those specific plots, and in turn to the individual's position in the political hierarchy relevant to those specific plots. We interpret these results in the context of a simple model of the political allocation of land rights in local matrilineages.

Efficiency and Productivity Differential Effects of Land Certification Program in Ethiopia

Efficiency and Productivity Differential Effects of Land Certification Program in Ethiopia
Author: Hosaena Ghebru Hagos
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2013-11-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

security effects (investment effects) and through more efficient input use due to enhanced tradability of the land (factor intensity effect), empirical studies on the size and magnitude of these effects are very scarce. Taking advantage of a unique quasi-experimental survey design, this study analyzes the productivity impacts of the Ethiopian land certification program by identifying how the investment effects (technological gains) would measure up against the benefits from any improvements in input use intensity (technical efficiency). For this purpose, we adopted a data envelopment analysis–based Malmquist-type productivity index to decompose productivity differences into (1) within-group farm efficiency differences, reflecting the technical efficiency effect, and (2) differences in the group production frontier, reflecting the long-term investment (technological) effects. The results show that farms without a land use certificate are, on aggregate, less productive than those with formalized use rights. We found no evidence to suggest this productivity difference is due to inferior technical efficiency. Rather, the reason is down to technological advantages, or a favorable investment effect, from which farm plots with a land use certificate benefit when evaluated against farms not included in the certification program. The low level of within-group efficiency of farms in each group reinforces the argument that certification programs need to be accompanied by complementary measures such as an improved financial and legal institutional framework in order to achieve the promised effects.

Economic Policy and Sustainable Land Use

Economic Policy and Sustainable Land Use
Author: Nico Heerink
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3642575587

Since the 1980s many developing countries have implemented macro-economic policy reforms to curb inflation, reduce fiscal deficits and control foreign debt. The policy instruments used, such as exchange rate adjustment, budget cuts, trade policy reforms, public expenditure reviews and privatisation, have different and sometimes opposite consequences for agricultural land use. During the same period awareness was growing that deteriorating soil quality could become a limiting factor to increase or even sustain agricultural production. As a result, food availability and even accessibility for large population groups in developing countries may be jeopardised in the near future. Recently, quantitative models have made useful contributions to understanding the impact of economic policy reforms on the sustainability of land use. They provide a consistent analytical framework to deal with complex issues such as the direct and indirect effects of economic, agricultural, environmental and population policies, the role of market imperfections in transmitting economic policy signals, and the interactions between soil quality, agricultural production and household economic decision making. Different types of models can be distinguished: bio economic models, focussing on the link between farm household decisions and the agricultural resource base, household and village models, examining the impact of the socio-economic environment on farm household decisions, and more aggregate models, analysing interactions between sectors and their implications for sustainable land use.

Evaluating the Impact of Land Tenure and Titling on Access to Credit in Uganda

Evaluating the Impact of Land Tenure and Titling on Access to Credit in Uganda
Author: Carly K. Petracco, John Pender
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2009
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

"The theorized impact of land tenure and titling on access to credit has produced mixed results in the empirical literature. Land tenure and titling is hypothesized to increase access to credit because of the enhanced land security provided and the newfound ability to use land as collateral. Using land as collateral and obtaining access to credit are paramount concerns in Uganda and in all of Africa, as greater emphasis is placed on the need to modernize the agricultural system. This paper uses a new approach in evaluating whether land tenure and titling have an impact on access to credit for rural households in Uganda. The new approach includes comparisons across four categories: (1) households who have customary land with versus without a customary certificate, (2) households who have freehold land with versus without a title, (3) households with a title or certificate having freehold versus customary tenure, and (4) households without a title or certificate having freehold versus customary tenure. Each comparison is then evaluated for the impact on access to any form of credit, formal credit, and informal credit. This analysis allows for an in-depth look into which element, tenure or title, is impacting access to credit and to which type of credit, formal or informal. To conduct this analysis, matching techniques are used, including propensity score matching and the Abadie and Imbens matching method. These two methods contain both strengths and weaknesses that allow the results to support to one another. The only significant finding of the matching was a positive impact on access to credit of freehold without title over customary without certificate. Results imply that tenure, not title, impacts credit access for rural households in Uganda."--Authors' abstract.

Handbook of Agricultural Economics

Handbook of Agricultural Economics
Author: Robert E. Evenson
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 847
Release: 2007-06-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0080545270

Volume 3 of this series of the Handbooks in Economics follows on from the previous two volumes by focusing on the fundamental concepts of agricultural economics. The first part of the volume examines the developments in human resources and technology mastery. The second part follows on by considering the processes and impact of invention and innovation in this field. The effects of market forces are examined in the third part, and the volume concludes by analysing the economics of our changing natural resources, including the past effects of climate change.Overall this volume forms a comprehensive and accessible survey of the field of agricultural economics and is recommended reading for anyone with an interest, either academic or professional, in this area.*Part of the renown Handbooks in Economics series*Contributors are leaders of their areas*International in scope and comprehensive in coverage

Tenure security and demand for land tenure regularization in Nigeria

Tenure security and demand for land tenure regularization in Nigeria
Author: Hagos, Hosaena Ghebru
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 31
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

In line with the conventional view that customary land rights impede agricultural development, the traditional tenure system in Nigeria has been perceived to obstruct the achievement of efficient development and agricultural transformation. This led to the Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978. As a remedial measure to the perceived inadequacy of the traditional tenure system, the act nationalized the control of all land, empowering state governors and local governments with administration and manage-ment of land.1 The act conferred on state governors the custodian right to provide use rights (i.e., the ‘right of occupancy’) for land users in their state, dissolving any possessory (freehold) rights to land which were granted by the customary system.

Harvesting Prosperity

Harvesting Prosperity
Author: Keith Fuglie
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781464813931

This book documents frontier knowledge on the drivers of agriculture productivity to derive pragmatic policy advice for governments and development partners on reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The analysis describes global trends and long-term sources of total factor productivity growth, along with broad trends in partial factor productivity for land and labor, revisiting the question of scale economies in farming. Technology is central to growth in agricultural productivity, yet across many parts of the developing world, readily available technology is never taken up. We investigate demand-side constraints of the technology equation to analyze factors that might influence producers, particularly poor producers, to adopt modern technology. Agriculture and food systems are rapidly transforming, characterized by shifting food preferences, the rise and growing sophistication of value chains, the increasing globalization of agriculture, and the expanding role of the public and private sectors in bringing about efficient and more rapid productivity growth. In light of this transformation, the analysis focuses on the supply side of the technology equation, exploring how the enabling environment and regulations related to trade and intellectual property rights stimulate Research and Development to raise productivity. The book also discusses emerging developments in modern value chains that contribute to rising productivity. This book is the fourth volume of the World Bank Productivity Project, which seeks to bring frontier thinking on the measurement and determinants of productivity to global policy makers.

Revisiting land policy reforms in developing countries with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa

Revisiting land policy reforms in developing countries with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Ghebru, Hosaena
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

The impact of land tenure systems in developing countries on agricultural investment and productivity continues to be the subject of intense scrutiny. This paper looks at land policy reforms with emphasis on lessons from Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). Food security crises in developing countries in the past decades have revived the debate about whether land tenure systems constrain farmer innovation and investment in agriculture. Changes in tenure systems can potentially have major implications for agricultural transformation. This chapter summarizes the arguments about how best to provide land tenure security in SSA and reviews recent experience and evidence arising from innovative interventions, with implications for other developing regions as well. It is hoped that the experiences and topics analyzed here may also help Venezuela in the process of normalizing land tenure systems in that country.