Untying the Land Knot : Making Equitable, Efficient, and Sustainable Use of Industrial and Commercial Land

A decade ago in Mozambique, a stakeholder workshop where the need to improve access to industrial and commercial land as a means to encourage investment was a topic of discussion, a government official came up to. In order to create new jobs, generate more income, and modernize the economy, many countries see an urgent need to encourage industrial and commercial investment, both domestic and foreign. However, investment in many sectors cannot take place unless land, along with other basic factors of production, is available. This book written from the point of view of investors, and focusing on industrial and commercial land, presents what the authors have learned from the developing world through years of first-hand observation and empirical research. Amid endless stories of land policy failures, we chose to look at encouraging cases, accompanied by a set of technical discussion papers, to provide a fresh look into how some pilot reforms were tested, and to various extents succeeded, in a range of countries. The experiences and lessons learned support the argument that land policy and institutional reforms, difficult as they are politically, institutionally, and technically, are necessary if development goals are to be achieved. They further support the argument that reform is possible, even in some of the most difficult environments. Finally, they suggest that an incremental approach aimed at addressing a bottleneck issue can be helpful so long as the government keeps the long-term objectives in sight. The materials presented in this book make clear that well-designed and well-implemented reforms can make business access to land equitable, efficient, and transparent, encouraging more and sustainable investment while bringing significant benefits to all citizens.