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Insecure Land Rights and Share Tenancy: Evidence from Madagascar

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  • Marc F. Bellemare

Abstract

Most studies of tenurial insecurity focus on its effects on investment. This paper studies the hitherto unexplored relationship between tenurial insecurity and land tenancy contracts. Based on distinct features of formal law and customary rights in Madagascar, this paper augments the canonical model of sharecropping by making the strength of the landlord’s property right increasing in the amount of risk she bears within the contract. Using data on landlords’ subjective perceptions in rural Madagascar, empirical tests support the hypothesis that insecure property rights drive contract choice but offer little support in favor of the canonical risk sharing hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc F. Bellemare, 2012. "Insecure Land Rights and Share Tenancy: Evidence from Madagascar," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(1), pages 155-180.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:landec:v:88:y:2012:i:1:p:155-180
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Ten Things Applied Econometricians Should Keep in Mind
      by Marc F. Bellemare in Marc F. Bellemare on 2013-09-18 14:00:07

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    2. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Wu, Steven Y., 2020. "Governance and contract choice: Theory and evidence from groundwater irrigation markets," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 129-147.
    3. Holden, Stein T. & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2014. "The roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in the context of population growth and land use intensification in Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 88-97.
    4. Luciano Ayala-cantu & Bruno Morando, 2018. "Rental markets, gender, and land certificates: Evidence from Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series 96, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Ayala-Cantu, Luciano & Morando, Bruno, 2020. "Rental markets, gender, and land certificates: Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    6. Schwerhoff, Gregor & Kalkuhl, Matthias & Waha, Katharina, 2016. "Agricultural Risk Management and Land Tenure," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145792, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. 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.
    8. Shinde, Nilesh N. & Do Valle, Stella Z. Schons & Maia, Alexandre Gori & Amacher, Gregory S., 2022. "Can an environmental policy contribute to the reduction of land conflict? Evidence from the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) in the Brazilian Amazon," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322584, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. He, Yiming & Collins, Alan R., 2021. "The effect of information structure on farmland contractual choice: toward a revised theory of share tenancy with new evidence from Guangdong, China," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Marc F. Bellemare, 2013. "The Productivity Impacts of Formal and Informal Land Rights: Evidence from Madagascar," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 89(2), pages 272-290.
    11. beg, Sabrin, 2019. "Computerization and Development: Formalizing Property Rights and its Impact on Land and Labor Allocation," MPRA Paper 96110, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Erin Fletcher, 2016. "Match quality and maternal investments in children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 83-102, March.
    13. Wendyam Ulrich Wilfried Zombre & Emmanuelle Bouquet & Jean-Philippe Colin, 2013. "Contraintes de financement et choix contractuel sur le marché du faire-valoir indirect à Madagascar," Post-Print hal-02748863, HAL.
    14. Yingchao Li & Ruyu Du & Linli Li & Guanghui Jiang & Zhiyuan Fan, 2020. "Influences of the Transaction Intention of Farmland Transfer under Information Asymmetry: An Empirical Study of 1100 Questionnaires from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, May.
    15. Perrine Burnod & Nicole Andrianirina & Céline Boue & Flore Gubert & Nelly Rakoto-Tiana & Julia Vaillant & Rado Rabeantoandro & Raphaël Rotovoarinony, 2012. "Land reform and certification in Madagascar: does perception of tenure security matter and change?," Post-Print hal-02811261, HAL.
    16. Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob & Chamberlin, Jordan & Kanyamuka, Joseph, 2018. "Wealth Disparities and Soil Fertility on Rented versus Owned Plots: Evidence from a Matched Tenant/Landlord Sample in Malawi," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274237, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Valkonen, Anni, 2021. "Examining sources of land tenure (in)security. A focus on authority relations, state politics, social dynamics and belonging," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment

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