Publisher Description

Land is a fundamental productive asset in agrarian economies. The rules that codify access to land and the way jurisdiction over land is distributed among members of a community have a powerful influence over how efficiently land is used, the incidence of poverty, and the level of inequality in the community. Yet we observe that much of the land in less developed countries is underutilized and/or misused from a sustainability standpoint, that lack of access to landor unfavorable terms of access remain a fundamental cause of poverty, and that unmet demands for land can be a source of political destabilization. At the same time, there presently exist unusualopportunities to reopen the issue of access to land. They include an increasing concern with the efficiency costs of inequality in land distribution, devolution of common property resource management to users, large scale redefinitions of property rights in the context of transition economies in Eastern and central Europe and the end of white rule in South Africa, liberalization of land markets, mounting pressure to deal with environmental issues, the proliferation of civil societyorganizations voicing the demands of the rural poor, and more democratic and decentralized forms of governance. There are many channels of access to land and each of these affects how landis used. While much attention has traditionally been given to state-led redistributive land reforms, this is only one among a variety of options, and currently not the easiest to manage politically. Other channels include inheritance and inter-vivos transfers, intra-household and intra-community land allocations, community titling of open access resources, the distribution of common property resources and the individualization of rights, decollectivization, land markets and landmarket-assisted land reforms, and land rental contracts. This book analyzes each of these channels of access to land, and recommends ways of making them more effective for poverty reduction.

Author Biography

Alain de Janvry is Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Elisabeth Sadoulet is Professor of Economics in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Jean-Philippe Platteau is Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of Namur. Gustavo Gordillo is Director of the FAO office in Santiago, Chile.

Table of Contents

1: Alain de Janvry, Jean-Philippe Platteau, Gustavo Gordillo, and Elisabeth Sadoulet: Access to land and Land Policy Reforms2: Jean-Philippe Platteau and Jean-Marie Baland: Impartible Inheritance Versus Equal Division: A Comparative Perspective Centered on Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa3: Marcel Fafchamps: Intrahousehold Access to Land and Source of Inefficiency: Theory and Concepts4: Keijiro Otsuka and Agnes R. Quisumbing: Land Rights and Natural Resource Management in the Transition to Individual Ownership: case Studies from Ghana and Indonesia5: Elinor Ostrom: The Puzzle of Counterproductive Property Rights Reform: A Conceptual Analysis6: W. S. Gombya-Ssembajjwe, A. Y. Banana, and J. Bahati: Case Study. Property Rights: Access to Land and Forest Resources in Uganda7: J. E. Michael Arnold: Devolution of Control of Common-Pool Resources to Local Communities: Experiences in Forestry8: Elisabeth Sadoulet, Rinku Murgai, and Alain de Janvry: Access to Land via Land Rental Markets9: Uday Shankar Saha and Mandira Saha: Case Study. Regulating the Sharecropping System: Operation Barga10: Michael R. Carter and Ramón Salgado: Land market Liberalization and the Agrarian Question in Latin America11: Alain de Janvry, Elisabeth Sadoulet, and Wendy Wolford: The Changing Role of the State in Latin American Land Reforms12: Wendy Wolford: Case Study. Grassroots-Initiated Land reform in Brazil: The Rural Landless Workers' Movement13: Klaus Deininger: Negotiated Land Reform as One Way of Land Access: Experiences from Colombia, Brazil, and South Africa14: Johan F. M. Swinnen: Transition form Collective Farms to Individual Tenures in Central and Eastern Europe15: Azeta Cungu and Johan F. M. Swinnen: Case Study. The Dramatic Rise of Individual Farming in Albania: Causes and Effects16: Tomás Doucha, Erik Mathijs, and Johan F. M. Swinnen: Case Study. Post-Communist Land Reform and Changes in Tenure in the Czech Republic17: Klaus Deininger and Hans Binswanger: The Evolution of the World Ban's Land Policy

Review

Thorough and closely argued essays ... one suspects that this work will form a key text in advancing the 'post-Washington consensus' in this area. Development Policy Review Clearly and persuasively brings land issues back into the policy agenda ... rich in evidence and analysis ... refreshingly innovative in terms of methodology ... This book will be of relevance to readers interested in land issues in developing countries and, more broadly, to all those interested in poverty reduction, for which better access to land is an indispensable condition. Raul Hopkins, International Fund for Agricultural Development For academics and policymakers interested in rural development, this book should be required reading ... Unlike most edited books this one hangs together exceptionally well; thanks in large part to the introductory chapter by the editors, which provides a road map and an analytical umbrella within which the chapters fit ... an extremely helpful resource for anyone serious about land relations and development. Journal of Development Economics

Long Description

Land is a fundamental productive asset in agrarian economies. The rules that codify access to land and the way jurisdiction over land is distributed among members of a community have a powerful influence over how efficiently land is used, the incidence of poverty, and the level of inequality in the community. Yet we observe that much of the land in less developed countries is underutilized and/or misused from a sustainability standpoint, that lack of access to land
or unfavorable terms of access remain a fundamental cause of poverty, and that unmet demands for land can be a source of political destabilization. At the same time, there presently exist unusual opportunities to reopen the issue of access to land. They include an increasing concern with the
efficiency costs of inequality in land distribution, devolution of common property resource management to users, large scale redefinitions of property rights in the context of transition economies in Eastern and central Europe and the end of white rule in South Africa, liberalization of land markets, mounting pressure to deal with environmental issues, the proliferation of civil society organizations voicing the demands of the rural poor, and more democratic and decentralized forms of
governance. There are many channels of access to land and each of these affects how land is used. While much attention has traditionally been given to state-led redistributive land reforms, this is only one among a variety of options, and currently not the easiest to manage
politically. Other channels include inheritance and inter-vivos transfers, intra-household and intra-community land allocations, community titling of open access resources, the distribution of common property resources and the individualization of rights, decollectivization, land markets and land market-assisted land reforms, and land rental contracts. This book analyzes each of these channels of access to land, and recommends ways of making them more effective for poverty reduction.

Review Text

1. Alain de Janvry, Jean-Philippe Platteau, Gustavo Gordillo, and Elisabeth Sadoulet: Access to land and Land Policy Reforms 2. Jean-Philippe Platteau and Jean-Marie Baland: Impartible Inheritance Versus Equal Division: A Comparative Perspective Centered on Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa 3. Marcel Fafchamps: Intrahousehold Access to Land and Source of Inefficiency: Theory and Concepts 4. Keijiro Otsuka and Agnes R. Quisumbing: Land Rights and Natural Resource Management in the Transition to Individual Ownership: case Studies from Ghana and Indonesia 5. Elinor Ostrom: The Puzzle of Counterproductive Property Rights Reform: A Conceptual Analysis 6. W. S. Gombya-Ssembajjwe, A. Y. Banana, and J. Bahati: Case Study. Property Rights: Access to Land and Forest Resources in Uganda 7. J. E. Michael Arnold: Devolution of Control of Common-Pool Resources to Local Communities: Experiences in Forestry 8. Elisabeth Sadoulet, Rinku Murgai, and Alain de Janvry: Access to Land via Land Rental Markets 9. Uday Shankar Saha and Mandira Saha: Case Study. Regulating the Sharecropping System: Operation Barga 10. Michael R. Carter and Ramon Salgado: Land market Liberalization and the Agrarian Question in Latin America 11. Alain de Janvry, Elisabeth Sadoulet, and Wendy Wolford: The Changing Role of the State in Latin American Land Reforms 12. Wendy Wolford: Case Study. Grassroots-Initiated Land reform in Brazil: The Rural Landless Workers' Movement 13. Klaus Deininger: Negotiated Land Reform as One Way of Land Access: Experiences from Colombia, Brazil, and South Africa 14. Johan F. M. Swinnen: Transition form Collective Farms to Individual Tenures in Central and Eastern Europe 15. Azeta Cungu and Johan F. M. Swinnen: Case Study. The Dramatic Rise of Individual Farming in Albania: Causes and Effects 16. Tomas Doucha, Erik Mathijs, and Johan F. M. Swinnen: Case Study. Post-Communist Land Reform and Changes in Tenure in the Czech Republic 17. Klaus Deininger and Hans Binswanger: The Evolution of the World Ban's Land Policy

Review Quote

Thorough and closely argued essays ... one suspects that this work will form a key text in advancing the 'post-Washington consensus' in this area.

Feature

Offers a set of guidelines for policy makers and international development agencies regarding how to reform land policies

Details