IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/uwp/landec/v87y2011ii1p297-311.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Is Tenure Security? Conceptual Implications for Empirical Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Chris D. Arnot
  • Martin K. Luckert
  • Peter C. Boxall

Abstract

Security of property rights, or tenure, is central to the economics of development and is recognized as important for the adoption and implementation of sustainable forest management. Despite the potential importance of tenure security, this paper shows that there is a great deal of variation in how security is defined and measured, which may be responsible for difficulties that empirical studies have had in linking tenure security with economic behavior. The objective of this paper is to clarify concepts of tenure security that will hopefully allow for improvements in empirical studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris D. Arnot & Martin K. Luckert & Peter C. Boxall, 2011. "What Is Tenure Security? Conceptual Implications for Empirical Analysis," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(2), pages 297-311.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:87:y:2011:ii:1:p:297-311
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://le.uwpress.org/cgi/reprint/87/2/297
    Download Restriction: A subscripton is required to access pdf files. Pay per article is available.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robinson, Elizabeth J. Z., 2005. "Reassessing the interaction between investment and tenure uncertainty," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 143-157, May.
    2. 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.
    3. Andrea Cattaneo, 2001. "Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Comparing the Impacts of Macroeconomic Shocks, Land Tenure, and Technological Change," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 77(2), pages 219-240.
    4. Michael R. Carter & Pedro Olinto, 2003. "Getting Institutions “Right” for Whom? Credit Constraints and the Impact of Property Rights on the Quantity and Composition of Investment," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(1), pages 173-186.
    5. Angelsen, Arild, 2007. "Forest cover change in space and time : combining the von Thunen and forest transition theories," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4117, The World Bank.
    6. Kabubo-Mariara, Jane, 2007. "Land conservation and tenure security in Kenya: Boserup's hypothesis revisited," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 25-35, October.
    7. Otsuka, Keijiro & Suyanto, S. & Sonobe, Tetsushi & Tomich, Thomas P., 2001. "Evolution of land tenure institutions and development of agroforestry: evidence from customary land areas of Sumatra," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 85-101, June.
    8. Peter H. Pearse, 1988. "Property Rights and the Development of Natural Resource Policies in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 14(3), pages 307-320, September.
    9. Samuel Benin & Mohamed Ahmed & John Pender & Simeon Ehui, 2005. "Development of Land Rental Markets and Agricultural Productivity Growth: The Case of Northern Ethiopia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 14(1), pages 21-54, March.
    10. Marc Jacobson & Joel De Castro & Vianca Aliaga & Julio Romero & MAllison Davis, 1998. "The Role of Tenure Security and Private Time Preference in Neotropical Deforestation," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 74(2), pages 162-170.
    11. Stein Holden & Hailu Yohannes, 2002. "Land Redistribution, Tenure Insecurity, and Intensity of Production: A Study of Farm Households in Southern Ethiopia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 78(4), pages 573-590.
    12. Guo Li & Scott Rozelle & Loren Brandt, 1998. "Tenure, land rights, and farmer investment incentives in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 19(1-2), pages 63-71, September.
    13. Gershon Feder & Tongroj Onchan, 1987. "Land Ownership Security and Farm Investment in Thailand," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 69(2), pages 311-320.
    14. Joseph Hayes & Michael Roth & Lydia Zepeda, 1997. "Tenure Security, Investment and Productivity in Gambian Agriculture: A Generalized Probit Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(2), pages 369-382.
    15. Otsuka, Keijiro, 2000. "Population Pressure, Land Tenure and Natural Resource Management," 2000 Conference, August 13-18, 2000, Berlin, Germany 197209, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. 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.
    17. Costello, Christopher J. & Kaffine, Daniel, 2008. "Natural resource use with limited-tenure property rights," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 20-36, January.
    18. Frank Place & Peter Hazell, 1993. "Productivity Effects of Indigenous Land Tenure Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 75(1), pages 10-19.
    19. Godoy, R. & Kirby, K. & Wilkie, D., 2001. "Tenure security, private time preference, and use of natural resources among lowland Bolivian Amerindians," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 105-118, July.
    20. 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.
    21. Southgate, Douglas & Sierra, Rodrigo & Brown, Lawrence, 1991. "The causes of tropical deforestation in Ecuador: A statistical analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 19(9), pages 1145-1151, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Cao, Yueming & Bai, Yunli & Zhang, Linxiu, 2020. "The impact of farmland property rights security on the farmland investment in rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    3. Tilman Br�ck, 2003. "Investment in Land, Tenure Security and Area Farmed in Northern Mozambique," HiCN Working Papers 01, Households in Conflict Network.
    4. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing, 2006. "Tenure security and land-related investment: Evidence from Ethiopia," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(5), pages 1245-1277, July.
    5. Hoang Huu Dinh & Shyam Basnet & Justus Wesseler, 2023. "Impact of Land Tenure Security Perception on Tree Planting Investment in Vietnam," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, February.
    6. Carol Newman & Finn Tarp & Katleen van den Broeck, 2015. "Property Rights and Productivity: The Case of Joint Land Titling in Vietnam," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 91(1), pages 91-105.
    7. Addiswork Tilahun Teklemariam & Logan Cochrane, 2021. "The Rush to the Peripheries: Land Rights and Tenure Security in Peri-Urban Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Markussen, Thomas, 2008. "Property Rights, Productivity, and Common Property Resources: Insights from Rural Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2277-2296, November.
    9. 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).
    10. Zikhali, Precious, 2008. "Fast Track Land Reform, Tenure Security, and Investments in Zimbabwe," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-23-efd, Resources for the Future.
    11. Daniel Ayalew Ali & Stefan Dercon & Madhur Gautam, 2011. "Property rights in a very poor country: tenure insecurity and investment in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(1), pages 75-86, January.
    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. Rohini Pande & Christopher Udry, 2005. "Institutions and Development:A View from Below," Working Papers 928, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    14. Séogo, Windinkonté & Zahonogo, Pam, 2023. "Do land property rights matter for stimulating agricultural productivity? Empirical evidence from Burkina Faso," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    15. Markussen, Thomas & Tarp, Finn & Van Den Broeck, Katleen, 2011. "The Forgotten Property Rights: Evidence on Land Use Rights in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 839-850, May.
    16. Hagos, Hosaena Ghebru & Holden, Stein, 2013. "Links between tenure security and food security: Evidence from Ethiopia:," ESSP working papers 59, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Ghebru, Hosaena & Girmachew , Fikirte, 2017. "Scrutinizing The Status Quo: Rural Transformation And Land Tenure Security In Nigeria," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 264394, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    18. Sakurai, Takeshi, 2013. "Intensification of Lowland Cropping Systems and Informal Land Ownership in West Africa: Comparison of Two Large Inland Markets in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana," Discussion Paper Series 586, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    19. Petracco, Carly K. & Pender, John, 2009. "Evaluating the impact of land tenure and titling on access to credit in Uganda:," IFPRI discussion papers 853, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Thomas Markussen & Finn Tarp & Katleen Van den Broeck, 2009. "The Forgotten Property Rights: Restrictions on Land Use in Vietnam," Discussion Papers 09-21, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:uwp:landec:v:87:y:2011:ii:1:p:297-311. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://le.uwpress.org/ .

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.