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Securing Land Rights under Rapid Population Growth: The Feasibility of Institutional Land Rights Protection in Africa

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  • Rein Haagsma
  • Pierre v. Mouche

Abstract

The paper examines the claim that a virtuous cycle of more secure land rights, more land-saving investments, and denser populations requires the development of institutions that regulate competition over land. We construct a contest model that links the tenure-security-investment relationship to the efforts of land users to enhance land rights themselves and the role of institutional protection. We study the effect of population growth on a close-to-subsistence economy, including the possibility that it weakens institutional protection. We derive sufficient conditions for a positive effect on land investment, but also show that population growth can push the economy into a low-productivity trap.

Suggested Citation

  • Rein Haagsma & Pierre v. Mouche, 2020. "Securing Land Rights under Rapid Population Growth: The Feasibility of Institutional Land Rights Protection in Africa," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 176(2), pages 312-350.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:doi:10.1628/jite-2020-0024
    DOI: 10.1628/jite-2020-0024
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    land-rights protection; land investment; institutions; population growth; contest model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • P14 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Property Rights
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • 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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