IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v64y2014icp791-802.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Smallholder Land Titling Facilitate Agricultural Growth?: An Analysis of the Determinants and Effects of Smallholder Land Titling in Zambia

Author

Listed:
  • Sitko, Nicholas J.
  • Chamberlin, Jordan
  • Hichaambwa, Munguzwe

Abstract

Zambia’s land policies privilege agricultural land alienation by wage earners over local smallholder farmers. As a result, land title holders are not statistically significantly different from non-title holders in terms of agricultural productivity, despite greater access to investment capital from wage earnings and higher levels of education. The effects of land titling on long- and medium-term land investments are also limited. These results are indicative of widespread speculative alienation of agricultural land by wage earners. Enabling more productive land users to acquire title requires policy change aimed at lowering the transaction costs and bureaucratic complexity of acquiring land title.

Suggested Citation

  • Sitko, Nicholas J. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Hichaambwa, Munguzwe, 2014. "Does Smallholder Land Titling Facilitate Agricultural Growth?: An Analysis of the Determinants and Effects of Smallholder Land Titling in Zambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 791-802.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:791-802
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.07.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14002162
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.07.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    2. Frank Place & S. E. Migot-Adholla, 1998. "The Economic Effects of Land Registration on Smallholder Farms in Kenya: Evidence from Nyeri and Kakamega Districts," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 74(3), pages 360-373.
    3. Smith, Robert E., 2004. "Land Tenure, Fixed Investment, and Farm Productivity: Evidence from Zambia's Southern Province," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1641-1661, October.
    4. Michael R. Carter & Pedro Olinto, 2003. "Getting Institutions “Right” for Whom? Credit Constraints and the Impact of Property Rights on the Quantity and Composition of Investment," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(1), pages 173-186.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    6. Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Holden, Stein & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2008. "Rural Land Certification in Ethiopia: Process, Initial Impact, and Implications for Other African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1786-1812, October.
    7. World Bank, 2003. "Nicaragua - Land Policy and Administration : Toward a More Secure Property Rights Regime," World Bank Publications - Reports 14650, The World Bank Group.
    8. Kees Jansen & Esther Roquas, 1998. "Modernizing Insecurity: The Land Titling Project in Honduras," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 81-106, January.
    9. Kilic, Talip & Palacios-López, Amparo & Goldstein, Markus, 2015. "Caught in a Productivity Trap: A Distributional Perspective on Gender Differences in Malawian Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 416-463.
    10. Deininger, Klaus & Binswanger, Hans, 1999. "The Evolution of the World Bank's Land Policy: Principles, Experience, and Future Challenges," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 14(2), pages 247-276, August.
    11. Sarah Gavian & Marcel Fafchamps, 1996. "Land Tenure and Allocative Efficiency in Niger," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(2), pages 460-471.
    12. Otsuka, Keijiro & Place, Frank (ed.), 2001. "Land tenure and natural resource management: A comparative study of agrarian communities in Asia and Africa," IFPRI books, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), number 0-8018-6747-9.
    13. Talip Kilic & Amparo Palacios-Lopez & Markus Goldstein, 2013. "Caught in a Productivity Trap," World Bank Publications - Reports 25461, The World Bank Group.
    14. Unknown, 1995. "Land Tenure, Land Markets, And Institutional Transformation In Zambia," Research Papers 12749, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Land Tenure Center.
    15. Place, Frank, 2009. "Land Tenure and Agricultural Productivity in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of the Economics Literature and Recent Policy Strategies and Reforms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1326-1336, August.
    16. Frank Place & Peter Hazell, 1993. "Productivity Effects of Indigenous Land Tenure Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 75(1), pages 10-19.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chamberlin, Jordan & Sitko, Nicholas & Hichaambwa, Munguzwe, 2015. "Gendered-impacts of smallholder land tilting: a plot-level analysis in rural Zambia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211451, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Rohini Pande & Christopher Udry, 2005. "Institutions and Development:A View from Below," Working Papers 928, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    3. Carol Newman & Finn Tarp & Katleen van den Broeck, 2015. "Property Rights and Productivity: The Case of Joint Land Titling in Vietnam," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 91(1), pages 91-105.
    4. Place, Frank, 2009. "Land Tenure and Agricultural Productivity in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of the Economics Literature and Recent Policy Strategies and Reforms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1326-1336, August.
    5. Hagos, Hosaena Ghebru, 2012. "Tenure (in)security and agricultural investment of smallholder farmers in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 5, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Fenske, James, 2011. "Land tenure and investment incentives: Evidence from West Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 137-156, July.
    7. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus & Goldstein, Markus, 2014. "Environmental and gender impacts of land tenure regularization in Africa: Pilot evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 262-275.
    8. Kotchikpa Gabriel Lawin & Lota Tamini, 2018. "Droits de propriété foncière et performance des petits producteurs agricoles des pays en développement : une synthèse de la littérature empirique," CIRANO Working Papers 2018s-05, CIRANO.
    9. Dillon, Brian & Voena, Alessandra, 2018. "Widows' land rights and agricultural investment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 449-460.
    10. Palacios-López, Amparo & López, Ramon E., 2014. "Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity: The Role of Market Imperfections," Working Papers 164061, University of Maryland, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    11. Uwacu Alban Singirankabo & Maurits Willem Ertsen, 2020. "Relations between Land Tenure Security and Agricultural Productivity: Exploring the Effect of Land Registration," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-18, May.
    12. Ghebru, Hosaena & Holden, Stein T., 2015. "Technical Efficiency and Productivity Differential Effects of Land Right Certification: A Quasi-Experimental Evidence," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 54(1), pages 1-31, February.
    13. Ho, Hoang-Anh, 2021. "Land tenure and economic development: Evidence from Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    14. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus, 2022. "Institutional determinants of large land-based investments’ performance in Zambia: Does title enhance productivity and structural transformation?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    15. Adere, Tilahun Habtamu & Mertens, Kewan & Maertens, Miet & Vranken, Liesbet, 2022. "The impact of land certification and risk preferences on investment in soil and water conservation: Evidence from southern Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    16. Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & López,Ramón & Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & López,Ramón, 2015. "Market imperfections exacerbate the gender gap: the case of Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7300, The World Bank.
    17. Stéphane Korsaga, 2018. "Land Tenure Security, Land-Related Investments and Agricultural Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Efficiency or Equity? A Microeconomic Analysis Applied to the Case of Burkina Faso," Working Papers halshs-01699118, HAL.
    18. Thomas Vendryes, 2014. "Peasants Against Private Property Rights: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 971-995, December.
    19. Ghebru, Hosaena, 2015. "Is There a Merit to the Continuum Tenure Approach? A Case of Demand for Land Rights Formulation in Rural Mozambique," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211683, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Bambio, Yiriyibin & Bouayad Agha, Salima, 2018. "Land tenure security and investment: Does strength of land right really matter in rural Burkina Faso?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 130-147.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:791-802. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.