IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unu/wpaper/dp2002-26.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Gradual Erosion of the Social Security Function of Customary Land Tenure Arrangements in Lineage-Based Societies

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-Philippe Platteau

Abstract

Customary rules governing access to land and other natural resources in village societies have characteristics that allow them to fulfill social security functions and achieve equity objectives. This is true of both common-property resources and land parcels held under individualized tenure. However, when land pressure increases under the combined influences of population growth and market integration, a shift occurs from extensive to intensive resource use patterns.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Philippe Platteau, 2002. "The Gradual Erosion of the Social Security Function of Customary Land Tenure Arrangements in Lineage-Based Societies," WIDER Working Paper Series DP2002-26, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2002-26
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/dp2002-26.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fafchamps, Marcel & Udry, Christopher & Czukas, Katherine, 1998. "Drought and saving in West Africa: are livestock a buffer stock?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 273-305, April.
    2. Sarah Gavian & Marcel Fafchamps, 1996. "Land Tenure and Allocative Efficiency in Niger," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(2), pages 460-471.
    3. Hunt, Diana, 1996. "The impacts of individual land titling in Mbeere, eastern Kenya," Discussion Papers in Economics 01/96, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    4. Bates, Robert H., "undated". "Some Conventional Orthodoxies in the Study of Agrarian Change," Working Papers 458, California Institute of Technology, Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
    5. M. Breusers, 2001. "Searching for Livelihood Security: Land and Mobility in Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 49-80.
    6. Das Gupta, Monica, 1987. "Informal Security Mechanisms and Population Retention in Rural India," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 101-120, October.
    7. Johnson, Omotunde E G, 1972. "Economic Analysis, The Legal Framework and Land Tenure Systems," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 259-276, April.
    8. Jean-Philippe Platteau, 1997. "Mutual insurance as an elusive concept in traditional rural communities," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 764-796.
    9. Baland, Jean-Marie & Gaspart, Frederic & Platteau, Jean-Philippe & Place, Frank, 2007. "The Distributive Impact of Land Markets in Uganda," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(2), pages 283-311, January.
    10. De Meza, David & Gould, J R, 1987. "Free Access versus Private Property in a Resource: Income Distributions Compared," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(6), pages 1317-1325, December.
    11. de Meza, David & Gould, J. R., 1985. "Free access vs private ownership: A comparison," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 387-391, August.
    12. Baland, Jean-Marie & Francois, Patrick, 2005. "Commons as insurance and the welfare impact of privatization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2-3), pages 211-231, February.
    13. Morduch, Jonathan, 1999. "Between the State and the Market: Can Informal Insurance Patch the Safety Net?," World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 14(2), pages 187-207, August.
    14. Jean-Marie Baland & Jean-Philippe Platteau, 1998. "Division of the Commons: A Partial Assessment of the New Institutional Economics of Land Rights," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(3), pages 644-650.
    15. Binswanger, Hans P. & Deininger, Klaus & Feder, Gershon, 1995. "Power, distortions, revolt and reform in agricultural land relations," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 42, pages 2659-2772, Elsevier.
    16. Green, Joy K., 1987. "Evaluating The Impact Of Consolidation Of Holdings, Individualization Of Tenure, And Registration Of Title: Lessons From Kenya," LTC Papers 292569, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Land Tenure Center.
    17. Andre, Catherine & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 1998. "Land relations under unbearable stress: Rwanda caught in the Malthusian trap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-47, January.
    18. Pinckney, Thomas C & Kimuyu, Peter K, 1994. "Land Tenure Reform in East Africa: Good, Bad or Unimportant?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), vol. 3(1), pages 1-28, April.
    19. Brasselle, Anne-Sophie & Gaspart, Frederic & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2002. "Land tenure security and investment incentives: puzzling evidence from Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 373-418, April.
    20. Bruce, John W., 1986. "Land Tenure Issues In Project Design And Strategies For Agricultural Development In Sub-Saharan Africa," LTC Papers 292568, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Land Tenure Center.
    21. Baland, Jean-Marie & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2000. "Halting Degradation of Natural Resources: Is There a Role for Rural Communities?," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198290612.
    22. Humphries, Jane, 1990. "Enclosures, Common Rights, and Women: The Proletarianization of Families in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 17-42, March.
    23. Ault, David E & Rutman, Gilbert L, 1979. "The Development of Individual Rights to Property in Tribal Africa," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(1), pages 163-182, April.
    24. Fafchamps, Marcel, 1992. "Solidarity Networks in Preindustrial Societies: Rational Peasants with a Moral Economy," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 147-174, October.
    25. Barrows, Richard & Roth, Michael, 1989. "Land Tenure And Investment In African Agriculture: Theory And Evidence," LTC Papers 292572, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Land Tenure Center.
    26. Paul A. Samuelson, 1974. "Is the Rent-Collector Worthy of His Full Hire?," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 7-10, January.
    27. Weitzman, Martin L., 1974. "Free access vs private ownership as alternative systems for managing common property," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 225-234, June.
    28. Atwood, David A., 1990. "Land registration in Africa: The impact on agricultural production," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 659-671, May.
    29. Jonathan Morduch, 1995. "Income Smoothing and Consumption Smoothing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 103-114, Summer.
    30. Bruce, John W. & Fortmann, Louise, 1989. "Agroforestry: Tenure And Incentives," LTC Papers 292570, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Land Tenure Center.
    31. Brito, Dagobert L. & Intriligator, Michael D. & Sheshinski, Eytan, 1997. "Privatization and the distribution of income in the commons," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 181-205, May.
    32. Besley, Timothy, 1995. "Property Rights and Investment Incentives: Theory and Evidence from Ghana," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(5), pages 903-937, October.
    33. George Dalton, 1962. "Traditional Production in Primitive African Economies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(3), pages 360-378.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Depetris-Chauvin, Emilio & Özak, Ömer, 2019. "Borderline Disorder: (De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Contemporary Conflict in Africa," MPRA Paper 110197, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2021.
    2. Emilio Depetris-Chauvin & Ömer Özak, 2021. "Borderline Disorder: (De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Contemporary Conflict in Africa," Departmental Working Papers 2004, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    3. Boone, Catherine, 2017. "Sons of the soil conflict in Africa: institutional determinants of ethnic conflict over land," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69794, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Beck, Ulrik & Bjerge, Benedikte, 2017. "Pro-poor Land Transfers and the Importance of Land Abundance and Ethnicity in The Gambia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 122-140.
    5. Linlin Li & Rong Tan & Cifang Wu, 2020. "Reconstruction of China’s Farmland Rights System Based on the ‘Trifurcation of Land Rights’ Reform," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Boone, Catherine, 2017. "Sons of the Soil Conflict in Africa: Institutional Determinants of Ethnic Conflict Over Land," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 276-293.
    7. Alice Sindzingre, 2005. "Explaining Threshold Effects of Globalization on Poverty: an Institutional Perspective," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-53, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fenske, James, 2011. "Land tenure and investment incentives: Evidence from West Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 137-156, July.
    2. Thomas Vendryes, 2014. "Peasants Against Private Property Rights: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 971-995, December.
    3. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus & Goldstein, Markus, 2014. "Environmental and gender impacts of land tenure regularization in Africa: Pilot evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 262-275.
    4. Baland, Jean-Marie & Francois, Patrick, 2005. "Commons as insurance and the welfare impact of privatization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2-3), pages 211-231, February.
    5. Brasselle, Anne-Sophie & Gaspart, Frederic & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2002. "Land tenure security and investment incentives: puzzling evidence from Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 373-418, April.
    6. Klaus Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali & Takashi Yamano, 2008. "Legal Knowledge and Economic Development: The Case of Land Rights in Uganda," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 84(4), pages 593-619.
    7. Ghebru, Hosaena & Holden, Stein, 2013. "Links between Tenure Security and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopia," CLTS Working Papers 2/13, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 10 Oct 2019.
    8. Sjaastad, Espen & Bromley, Daniel W., 1997. "Indigenous land rights in sub-Saharan Africa: Appropriation, security and investment demand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 549-562, January.
    9. Jean‐Philippe Platteau, 1996. "The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 29-86, January.
    10. Hagos, Hosaena Ghebru, 2012. "Tenure (in)security and agricultural investment of smallholder farmers in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 5, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Zimmerman, Frederick J. & Carter, Michael R., 2003. "Asset smoothing, consumption smoothing and the reproduction of inequality under risk and subsistence constraints," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 233-260, August.
    12. Deininger, Klaus & Chamorro, Juan Sebastian, 2004. "Investment and equity effects of land regularisation: the case of Nicaragua," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 101-116, March.
    13. Place, Frank, 2009. "Land Tenure and Agricultural Productivity in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of the Economics Literature and Recent Policy Strategies and Reforms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1326-1336, August.
    14. Ronan Congar & Louis Hotte, 2014. "Open Access vs. Restricted Access with Two Variable Factors: On the Redistributive Effects of a Property Regime Change," EconomiX Working Papers 2014-51, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    15. Andre, Catherine & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 1998. "Land relations under unbearable stress: Rwanda caught in the Malthusian trap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-47, January.
    16. Francis Mwesigye & Tomoya Matsumoto & Keijiro Otsuka, 2014. "Population Pressure, Rural-to-Rural Migration and Evolution of Land Tenure Institutions: The Case of Uganda," GRIPS Discussion Papers 14-09, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    17. Ronan Congar & Louis Hotte, 2021. "Open Access Versus Restricted Access in a General Equilibrium with Mobile Capital," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 78(3), pages 521-544, March.
    18. KOUADIO, Hugues, 2012. "Droit foncier, productivité et investissement dans l'agriculture : cas du café en Côte d'Ivoire [Land tenure, productivity and investment in agriculture: the case of coffee in Côte d'Ivoire]," MPRA Paper 49944, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Deininger, Klaus, 2010. "Towards sustainable systems of land administration: Recent evidence and challenges for Africa," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 1-22, September.
    20. Stoeven, Max T. & Quaas, Martin F., 2012. "Privatizing renewable resources: Who gains, who loses?," Economics Working Papers 2012-02, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Department of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:dp2002-26. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Siméon Rapin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/widerfi.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.