Can a Market-Assisted Land Redistribution Program Improve the Lives of the Poor? Evidence from Malawi

This paper uses a rural household survey dataset collected in 2006 and 2008 to investigate the impact of a market-based land resettlement project in southern Malawi. The program provided a conditional cash and land transfer to poor families to relocate to larger plots of farm land. The average treatment effect of the program is estimated using a difference-in-difference matching technique based on propensity score matching; qualitative information complement the analysis to ensure unobservable characteristics do not bias the findings. As expected, the results show a significant effect on landholdings and agricultural production, with land size increasing and maize production increasing by more than 100 kilograms relative to the control. However, the impacts on food security and asset holdings were mixed. Households that relocated great distances had systematically lower impacts than those households that stayed within their district of origin because they had to adapt to unfamiliar agro-ecological, cultural, and market environments. Impacts also varied across gender of the household head; female-headed beneficiary households increased their productive and consumption assets significantly, while male-headed households increased their asset holdings less so.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Datar, Gayatri, Del Carpio, Ximena, Hoffman, Vivian
Language:	English
Published:	2009-10-01
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, AGRARIAN STRUCTURE, AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES, AGRICULTURAL LAND, AGRICULTURAL POLICY, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, AGRICULTURE, ARABLE LAND, ASSET HOLDING, ASSET HOLDINGS, ASSET VALUE, ASSETS, BANK ACCOUNT, BANK POLICY, BENEFICIARIES, BENEFICIARY, BUDGETING, CAPITAL FORMATION, CASH TRANSFER, COLLECTIVE ACTION, COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS, COLONIAL LAND, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, CONFLICT, CONSUMER DURABLES, CONSUMER GOODS, COUNTERFACTUAL, CREDIT INSTITUTIONS, CRITICAL APPRAISAL, CROP VALUE, CROPS, CULTIVABLE LAND, DEED, DEEDS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DROUGHT, DUMMY VARIABLE, DURABLE, DURABLE ASSET, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC WELFARE, ECONOMICS, ECONOMICS RESEARCH, EFFECTIVE USE, ENVIRONMENTAL, ENVIRONMENTS, EXPENDITURE, EXPENDITURES, EXPROPRIATION, EXTENDED FAMILIES, EXTENSION, EXTENSION SERVICES, FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, FARM EMPLOYMENT, FARM SIZE, FARMERS, FARMING HOUSEHOLDS, FARMLAND, FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, FERTILIZERS, FINANCES, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SUPPLY, GENDER, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD HEAD, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HOUSING, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN RESOURCES, INCOME, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME DYNAMICS, INCOME REDISTRIBUTION, INCOMES, INDIGENOUS LAND TENURE SYSTEMS, INEQUALITY, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INVESTING, LABOR INPUTS, LAND DEVELOPMENT, LAND DISTRIBUTION, LAND HOLDING, LAND HOLDINGS, LAND INEQUALITY, LAND OWNERSHIP, LAND POLICIES, LAND PRICES, LAND PRODUCTIVITY, LAND QUALITY, LAND REDISTRIBUTION, LAND REFORM, LAND REFORMS, LAND RESETTLEMENT, LAND SIZE, LAND TITLE, LAND TITLES, LAND TITLING, LAND VALUE, LAND-POOR HOUSEHOLDS, LANDHOLDINGS, LANDOWNERS, LEGAL OWNERSHIP, LIVESTOCK, MARKET ENVIRONMENTS, MARKET PRICES, MARKET VALUE, MARKETING, NATIONAL POVERTY, NGOS, POLICY MAKERS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POOR, POOR FAMILIES, POSITIVE EFFECTS, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, POVERTY ALLEVIATION EFFORTS, POVERTY ESTIMATES, POVERTY LEVELS, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY STATUS, PRICE INCREASES, PRODUCTIVE ASSETS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, REDISTRIBUTIVE REFORM, REMOTE AREAS, RESERVE, RESERVES, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, REVOLVING FUND, RURAL, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL HOUSEHOLD, RURAL POOR, SMALLHOLDER FARMERS, SOCIAL IMPACTS, SOCIAL NETWORKS, SUBSISTENCE FARMERS, SUBSTITUTION EFFECT, TARGETING, TRANCHE, TRANCHES, VILLAGE LEADERS, WEALTH, WEATHER PATTERNS, WELFARE EFFECTS, WELFARE INDICATORS,
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_20091026085932 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4285
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