Environmental and Gender Impacts of Land Tenure Regularization in Africa : Pilot Evidence from Rwanda

Although increased global demand for land has led to renewed interest in African land tenure, few models to address these issues quickly and at the required scale have been identified or evaluated. The case of Rwanda's nation-wide and relatively low-cost land tenure regularization program is thus of great interest. This paper evaluates the short-term impact (some 2.5 years after completion) of the pilots undertaken to fine-tune the approach using a geographic discontinuity design with spatial fixed effects. Three key findings emerge from the analysis. First, the program improved land access for legally married women (about 76 percent of married couples) and prompted better recordation of inheritance rights without gender bias. Second, the analysis finds a very large impact on investment and maintenance of soil conservation measures. This effect was particularly pronounced for female headed households, suggesting that this group had suffered from high levels of tenure insecurity, which the program managed to reduce. Third, land market activity declined, allowing rejection of the hypothesis that the program caused a wave of distress sales or widespread landlessness by vulnerable people. Implications for program design and policy are discussed.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ali, Daniel Ayalew, Deininger, Klaus, Goldstein, Markus
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	2011-08-01
Subjects:	ACCESS TO LAND, AGENTS, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AGRICULTURE, APPROPRIATION, BANKS, COMMONS, COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, COMPENSATION, CONSTRUCTION, DECENTRALIZATION, DECENTRALIZATION PROCESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EMINENT DOMAIN, EMPLOYMENT, FAIR MARKET VALUE, FARMLAND, FINANCIAL MARKETS, FORECLOSURE, FORESTS, HETEROGENEITY, HOUSEHOLDS, HOUSING, IMPROVED LAND, INSURANCE, LABOR MARKETS, LAND ACQUISITION, LAND ADMINISTRATION, LAND CLAIMS, LAND ECONOMICS, LAND EXPROPRIATION, LAND GRABBING, LAND MARKET, LAND MARKETS, LAND OWNERS, LAND OWNERSHIP, LAND PARCELS, LAND RECORDS, LAND REGISTRATION, LAND RESOURCES, LAND RIGHTS, LAND SALES, LAND TENURE, LAND TITLING, LAND TRANSACTIONS, LAND TRANSFER, LAND TRANSFERS, LAND USE, LAND USE PLANNING, LAND VALUE, LAND VALUES, LANDLESSNESS, LANDLORDS, LANDS, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LEGAL PROTECTION, LEGAL PROVISIONS, LEGISLATION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MANDATES, MARGINAL LANDS, MARKET VALUE, NATURAL RESOURCE, NATURAL RESOURCES, OPEN ACCESS, PARTNERSHIP, POINTS, PRIVATE LAND, PRIVATE PROPERTY, PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS, PRIVATIZATION, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PROPERTY TITLES, PROPERTY VALUE, PUBLIC SERVICES, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, SOIL, SOIL CONSERVATION, SOIL DEGRADATION, SOIL QUALITY, SQUATTERS, TRANSACTION COSTS, VILLAGES, WAGES, WOMEN AND PROPERTY RIGHTS, AFRICA GENDER POLICY, GENDER INNOVATION LAB,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20110818104704 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3527
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