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Building for the Future? Investment, Land Reform and the Contingencies of Ownership in Contemporary Ghana

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  • Berry, Sara

Abstract

Summary Case studies of individual investments in tree crops and houses illustrate recent changes in social and economic differentiation among families and communities in Asante Region, Ghana, and their implications for recent debates over state-led land reform versus community-led land reform. Seeking efficiency, neoliberal land reforms transfer land from state to private ownership, as well as tenure reforms designed to strengthen owners' rights. By treating communities as owners, reforms benefit the poor as well as the well-to-do. In Ghana and other West African countries, privatization may also work in the opposite direction--reinforcing inequalities within communities, and encouraging claims to land based on origin and indigeneity.

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  • Berry, Sara, 2009. "Building for the Future? Investment, Land Reform and the Contingencies of Ownership in Contemporary Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1370-1378, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:8:p:1370-1378
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Berry, Sara, 1997. "Tomatoes, land and hearsay: Property and history in asante in the time of structural adjustment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(8), pages 1225-1241, August.
    2. International Monetary Fund, 2003. "Ghana: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper," IMF Staff Country Reports 2003/056, International Monetary Fund.
    3. repec:ucp:ecdecc:y:2004:v:52:i:4:p:821-49 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Resnik, Danielle & Okumo, Austen, 2017. "Institutional Limits To Land Governance Reform: Federal-State Dynamics In Nigeria," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 259578, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    2. 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).
    3. Hausermann, Heidi & Ferring, David & Atosona, Bernadette & Mentz, Graciela & Amankwah, Richard & Chang, Augustus & Hartfield, Kyle & Effah, Emmanuel & Asuamah, Grace Yeboah & Mansell, Coryanne & Sastr, 2018. "Land-grabbing, land-use transformation and social differentiation: Deconstructing “small-scale” in Ghana's recent gold rush," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 103-114.
    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. Huntington, Heather & Marple-Cantrell, Kate, 2021. "Customary governance of artisanal and small-scale mining in Guinea: Social and environmental practices and outcomes⋆," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Broegaard, Rikke Brandt & Vongvisouk, Thoumthone & Mertz, Ole, 2017. "Contradictory Land Use Plans and Policies in Laos: Tenure Security and the Threat of Exclusion," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 170-183.
    7. Hajjar, Reem, 2015. "Advancing small-scale forestry under FLEGT and REDD in Ghana," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 12-20.
    8. Larson, Anne M. & Cronkleton, Peter J. & Pulhin, Juan M., 2015. "Formalizing Indigenous Commons: The Role of ‘Authority’ in the Formation of Territories in Nicaragua, Bolivia, and the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 228-238.
    9. Munisi, Gibson & Randøy, Trond, 2013. "Corporate governance and company performance across Sub-Saharan African countries," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 92-110.
    10. Kerstin Nolte & Susanne Vaeth, 2013. "Interplay of Land Governance and Large-Scale Agricultural Investment: Evidence from Ghana and Kenya," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201350, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).

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