Assessing the functioning of land rental markets in Ethiopia
Abstract
Although a large theoretical literature discusses the possible inefficiency of sharecropping contracts, the empirical evidence on this phenomenon has been ambiguous at best. Household-level fixed-effect estimates from about 8,500 plots operated by households that own and sharecrop land in the Ethiopian highlands provide support for the hypothesis of Marshallian inefficiency. At the same time, a factor adjustment model suggests that the extent to which rental markets allow households to attain their desired operational holding size is extremely limited. Our analysis points towards factor market imperfections (no rental for oxen), lack of alternative employment opportunities, and tenure insecurity as possible reasons underlying such behavior, suggesting that, rather than worrying almost exclusively about Marshallian inefficiency, it is equally warranted to give due attention to the policy framework within which land rental markets operate.Download Info
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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 4442.Length:
Date of creation: 01 Dec 2007
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4442
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Related research
Keywords: Rural Land Policies for Poverty Reduction; Land Use and Policies; Labor Policies; Municipal Housing and Land; Economic Theory&Research;Other versions of this item:
- Klaus Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali & Tekie Alemu, 2008. "Assessing the Functioning of Land Rental Markets in Ethiopia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(1), pages 67-100, October.
- NEP-AFR-2007-12-19 (Africa)
- NEP-AGR-2007-12-19 (Agricultural Economics)
- NEP-ALL-2007-12-19 (All new papers)
- NEP-DEV-2007-12-19 (Development)
- NEP-URE-2007-12-19 (Urban & Real Estate Economics)
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Alemu, Tekie, 2011. "Productivity effects of land rental markets in Ethiopia : Evidence from a matched tenant-landlord sample," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5727, The World Bank.
- Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Alemu, Tekie, 2009.
"Impacts of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Investment, and Land Markets: Evidence from Ethiopia,"
Discussion Papers
dp-09-11-efd, Resources For the Future.
- Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Alemu, Tekie, 2008. "Impacts of land certification on tenure security, investment, and land markets : evidence from Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4764, The World Bank.
- Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing, 2007. "Land rental markets in the process of rural structural transformation : productivity and equity impacts in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4454, The World Bank.
- Jin, Songqing & Deininger, Klaus W., 2007.
"Land Rental Markets in the Process of Rural Structural Transformation: Productivity and Equity Impacts from China,"
2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN
9932, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
- Jin, Songqing & Deininger, Klaus, 2009. "Land rental markets in the process of rural structural transformation: Productivity and equity impacts from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 629-646, December.
- Dokken, Therere, 2013. "Land tenure in Tigray: How large is the gender bias?," CLTS Working Papers 5/13, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
- 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.
- Ayalew Ali, Daniel & Deininger, Klaus, 2012. "Causes and implications of credit rationing in rural Ethiopia : the importance of spatial variation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6096, The World Bank.
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