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Time-Related Characteristics of Tenancy Contracts and Investment in Soil Conservation Practices

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  • Awudu Abdulai
  • Renan Goetz

Abstract

We present a dynamic model that shows how different types of land tenancy contracts and their time-related characteristics influence farmers’ decisions to invest in soil improvement and productive inputs. Using recent household and plot-level data from the Brong-Ahafo Region in Ghana, we analyze the impact of land tenancy arrangements, contract duration, as well as the number of times the contract has been renewed in the past on the intensity of investment in soil conservation measures such as ditches and farmyard manure and productive inputs like chemical fertilizer. The empirical findings generally confirm the predictions of the theoretical model and reveal that the intensity of investments on different plots cultivated by a given farmer varies significantly with the type of tenancy arrangement on the plot as well as the time-related characteristics of the contract. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Awudu Abdulai & Renan Goetz, 2014. "Time-Related Characteristics of Tenancy Contracts and Investment in Soil Conservation Practices," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 59(1), pages 87-109, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:59:y:2014:i:1:p:87-109
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-013-9719-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Sergei Guriev & Dmitriy Kvasov, 2005. "Contracting on Time," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1369-1385, December.
    2. Schwerhoff, Gregor & Kalkuhl, Matthias & Waha, Katharina, 2016. "Agricultural Risk Management and Land Tenure," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145792, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Asaaga, Festus A. & Hirons, Mark A. & Malhi, Yadvinder, 2020. "Questioning the link between tenure security and sustainable land management in cocoa landscapes in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw, 2023. "Analysis of the Contribution of Land Registration to Sustainable Land Management in East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Tongwei Qiu & Biliang Luo & Qinying He, 2020. "Does Land Rent between Acquaintances Deviate from the Reference Point? Evidence from Rural China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 28(3), pages 29-50, May.
    6. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Fernandez Milan, Blanca & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Jakob, Michael & Hahnen, Maren & Creutzig, Felix, 2017. "Fiscal Instruments for Sustainable Development: The Case of Land Taxes," MPRA Paper 78652, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Nida Akram & Muhammad Waqar Akram & Hongshu Wang & Ayesha Mehmood, 2019. "Does Land Tenure Systems Affect Sustainable Agricultural Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Adam, Baba & Abdulai, Awudu, 2022. "Heterogeneity in the Impact of Conservation Agriculture Practices on Farm Performance and Inorganic Fertilizer Use in Ghana," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 47(2), May.
    9. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu & Buss, Mareike, 2014. "Certification and Access to Export Markets: Adoption and Return on Investment of Organic-Certified Pineapple Farming in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 79-92.
    10. Tongwei, Qiu & Luo, Biliang & Boris Choy, S.T. & Li, Yifei & He, Qinying, 2020. "Do land renting-in and its marketization increase labor input in agriculture? Evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Fernandez Milan, Blanca & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Jakob, Michael & Hahnen, Maren & Creutzig, Felix, 2018. "Can land taxes foster sustainable development? An assessment of fiscal, distributional and implementation issues," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 338-352.
    12. Licheng Xu & Xiaodong Du, 2022. "Land certification, rental market participation, and household welfare in rural China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(1), pages 52-71, January.
    13. Caroline Dubbert & Awudu Abdulai & Sadick Mohammed, 2023. "Contract farming and the adoption of sustainable farm practices: Empirical evidence from cashew farmers in Ghana," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 487-509, March.
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    15. Djanibekov, Utkur & Finger, Robert, 2018. "Agricultural risks and farm land consolidation process in transition countries: The case of cotton production in Uzbekistan," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 223-235.
    16. Bo Li & Ruimei Wang & Quan Lu, 2021. "Land Tenure and Cotton Farmers’ Land Improvement: Evidence from State-Owned Farms in Xinjiang, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-20, December.
    17. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Waha, Katharina, 2020. "Land tenure, climate and risk management," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    18. Goetz, Renan & Yatsenko, Yuri & Hritonenko, Natali & Xabadia, Angels & Abdulai, Awudu, 2019. "The dynamics of productive assets, contract duration and holdup," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 24-37.
    19. Nchanji, Eileen Bogweh & Chagomoka, Takemore & Bellwood-Howard, Imogen & Drescher, Axel & Schareika, Nikolaus & Schlesinger, Johannes, 2023. "Land tenure, food security, gender and urbanization in Northern Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Land rights; Contract duration; Investment; Soil capital; Hold-up problem; Q15; O13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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