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Custom, Capitalism, and the State: The Origins of Insecure Land Tenure in West Africa

Author

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  • Kathryn Firmin-Sellers

Abstract

This paper invokes foundational property rights theories to explain the persistence of insecure tenure in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The case studies affirm the theories' core propositions: when relative factor prices change, actors seek more narrowly defined rights to newly valued resources. Their efforts may be blocked by costly decision-making rules, distributional conflict, or the inabiltiy to credibly commit to the new rights. This paper also highlights the way in which culture - the beliefs, rituals, and practices that promote a community's share understanding or mode of behavior - circumscribes actors' choice sets, and, thus, influences the path of institutional change.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Firmin-Sellers, 2000. "Custom, Capitalism, and the State: The Origins of Insecure Land Tenure in West Africa," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 156(3), pages 513-513, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:mhr:jinste:urn:sici:0932-4569(200009)156:3_513:ccatst_2.0.tx_2-w
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Benito Arruñada & Marco Fabbri & Michael Faure, 2022. "Land Titling and Litigation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(1), pages 131-156.
    2. repec:sph:rjedep:v:2:y:2013:i:1:p:33-58 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Deininger, Klaus & Castagnini, Raffaella, 2006. "Incidence and impact of land conflict in Uganda," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 321-345, July.
    4. Madalina Epure, 2013. "How Does the Changing Access to Resources Affect the Power and Authority of the Postsocialist Romanian State?," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 2(1), pages 32-56, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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