Clarifying overlapping land rights in semi-formal systems: The case of Mailo tenant lands in Uganda

This paper examines the effects of clarifying overlapping land rights on Mailo land in Central Uganda, contributing to broader debates on property rights and rural development. The study leverages a quasi-experimental design implemented across three districts, where interventions included systematic demarcation of parcel boundaries and land inventories, dissemination of legal knowledge, conflict mediation services, and facilitation of tenant–landlord agreements. Drawing on a panel of Mailo tenants, a large-N tenant survey, and a survey of landlords, we assess how land rights awareness raising shaped institutional clarity (improved documentation and legal awareness), tenure security (reduced conflict and strengthened perceptions of security), and economic behavior (evidence of land market activity). The findings highlight the central role of annual Busuulu (ground rent) payments—functioning simultaneously as a rent obligation and as formal evidence of tenant rights—as a mechanism linking institutional reforms to greater tenure security and market participation. We further identify heterogeneous effects, with distinct patterns for female-headed households and for tenants with kinship ties to landlords on all three outcomes. Taken together, the results provide new evidence on the mechanisms through which property rights interventions shape security and economic activity in rural Africa.