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Trust, tenure insecurity, and land certification in rural Ethiopia

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  • Bezabih, Mintewab
  • Kohlin, Gunnar
  • Mannberg, Andrea

Abstract

This paper assesses the impact of a land certification program in Ethiopia on the level of interpersonal and institutional trust among households in the Amhara region. The land certification program is designed to enhance land tenure security of farmers, by maintaining (egalitarian) status quo land distribution and equity concerns. The major contribution of the analysis lies in the exogenous nature of the program which addresses the endogeneity problems that characterize related studies, assessing the impact of policy related variables on trust. The effects of the land certification program on trust are identified both by the difference-in-difference approach and by non-parametrical analysis of average treatment effects. Overall trust is found to be enhanced by the certification program, with trust towards formal institutions being more responsive to the program than interpersonal trust. The major policy implication of the result is that trust could be invested on through policy changes regarding the economic betterment of societies.

Suggested Citation

  • Bezabih, Mintewab & Kohlin, Gunnar & Mannberg, Andrea, 2011. "Trust, tenure insecurity, and land certification in rural Ethiopia," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 833-843.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:40:y:2011:i:6:p:833-843
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2011.08.015
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    Cited by:

    1. Haddis Solomon & Yoko Kijima, 2022. "Does Land Certification Mitigate the Negative Impact of Weather Shocks? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Hu, Xinyan & Chen, Zhuo & Chen, Xiangpo & Liu, Ziyu, 2023. "The political trust impacts of land titling in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    3. Valkonen, Anni, 2021. "Examining sources of land tenure (in)security. A focus on authority relations, state politics, social dynamics and belonging," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Muchomba, Felix M., 2017. "Women’s Land Tenure Security and Household Human Capital: Evidence from Ethiopia’s Land Certification," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 310-324.
    5. Kathleen Klaus, 2020. "Raising the stakes: Land titling and electoral stability in Kenya," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(1), pages 30-45, January.
    6. Mireille Biraro & Jaap Zevenbergen & Berhanu Kefale Alemie, 2021. "Good Practices in Updating Land Information Systems that Used Unconventional Approaches in Systematic Land Registration," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Ayalew, Hailemariam & Admasu, Yeshwas & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2021. "Is land certification pro-poor? Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    8. Salvatore Di Falco & Jérémy Laurent‐Lucchetti & Marcella Veronesi & Gunnar Kohlin, 2020. "Property Rights, Land Disputes and Water Scarcity: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 54-71, January.
    9. Mintewab Bezabih & Andrea Mannberg & Eyerusalem Siba, 2014. "The land certification program and off-farm employment in Ethiopia," GRI Working Papers 168, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trust; Land certification; Interpersonal and institutional trust; Difference-in-difference method;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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