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Tenure insecurity and investment in soil conservation. Evidence from Malawi

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  • Lovo, Stefania

Abstract

Tenure insecurity can have important consequences for the conservation of natural resources. This paper focuses on two main sources of tenure insecurity, informal short-term tenancy contracts, and customary gender-biased inheritance practices. Using a large plot-level dataset from Malawi, the analysis employs a linear probability model with household fixed effects and finds that both sources of insecurity have a negative effect on soil conservation investments. These findings suggest that future land reforms should deal with the informality of the land rental market and address the gap between users and owners of land created by existing customary practices.

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  • Lovo, Stefania, 2016. "Tenure insecurity and investment in soil conservation. Evidence from Malawi," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64112, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:64112
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    tenure insecurity; soil conservation; tenancy; inheritance systems; Malawi;
    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
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land

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