IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cid/wpfacu/141.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Challenges in Land Tenure and Land Reform in Africa: An Anthropological Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Pauline Peters

Abstract

The paper discusses the interface of anthropological research on land with policy positions across formative periods - from the colonial period through to the present as land tenure reform has repeatedly become a development priority; and recent research on intensifying competition over land, its intersection with competition over legitimate authority, new types of land transfers, the role of claims of indigeneity or autochthony in land conflicts, and the challenges of increasing social inequality and of commodification of land for analysis and for land reform.

Suggested Citation

  • Pauline Peters, 2007. "Challenges in Land Tenure and Land Reform in Africa: An Anthropological Perspective," CID Working Papers 141, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    • Handle: RePEc:cid:wpfacu:141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/centers/cid/files/publications/faculty-working-papers/141.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deininger, Klaus & Binswanger, Hans, 1999. "The Evolution of the World Bank's Land Policy: Principles, Experience, and Future Challenges," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 14(2), pages 247-276, August.
    2. J.-P. Colin & M. Ayouz, 2006. "The development of a land market? Insights from Côte d'Ivoire," Post-Print hal-00719280, HAL.
    3. Osama J. A. R. Abu Shair, 1997. "Privatization and Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25374-6, December.
    4. Jean-Philippe Colin & Mourad Ayouz, 2006. "The Development of a Land Market? Insights from Côte d’Ivoire," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 82(3), pages 404-423.
    5. Gray, Leslie C. & Kevane, Michael, 2001. "Evolving Tenure Rights and Agricultural Intensification in Southwestern Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 573-587, April.
    6. J.-P. Colin & M. Ayouz, 2006. "The development of a land market? Insights from Côte d'Ivoire," Post-Print hal-00716385, HAL.
    7. Pauline Peters & Daimon Kambewa, 2007. "Whose Security? Deepening Social Conflict over ‘Customary’ Land in the Shadow of Land Tenure Reform in Malawi," CID Working Papers 142, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    8. Jean‐Philippe Platteau, 1996. "The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 29-86, January.
    9. Jan Kees van Donge & Levi Pherani, 1999. "Law and order as a development issue: Land conflicts and the creation of social order in Southern Malawi," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 48-70.
    10. Lastarria-Cornhiel, Susana, 1997. "Impact of privatization on gender and property rights in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(8), pages 1317-1333, August.
    11. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Michael Kremer & Jessica Leino & Edward Miguel & Alix Peterson Zwane, 2011. "Spring Cleaning: Rural Water Impacts, Valuation, and Property Rights Institutions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(1), pages 145-205.
    2. Jahani Chehrehbargh, Fatemeh & Rajabifard, Abbas & Atazadeh, Behnam & Steudler, Daniel, 2024. "Identifying global parameters for advancing Land Administration Systems," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    3. Haagsma, Rein & Mouche, Pierre v., 2013. "Egalitarian norms, economic development, and ethnic polarization," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 719-744.
    4. Duchelle, Amy E. & Cromberg, Marina & Gebara, Maria Fernanda & Guerra, Raissa & Melo, Tadeu & Larson, Anne & Cronkleton, Peter & Börner, Jan & Sills, Erin & Wunder, Sven & Bauch, Simone & May, Peter &, 2014. "Linking Forest Tenure Reform, Environmental Compliance, and Incentives: Lessons from REDD+ Initiatives in the Brazilian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 53-67.

    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. Peters, Pauline E., 2009. "Challenges in Land Tenure and Land Reform in Africa: Anthropological Contributions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1317-1325, August.
    2. Place, Frank, 2009. "Land Tenure and Agricultural Productivity in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of the Economics Literature and Recent Policy Strategies and Reforms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1326-1336, August.
    3. Ghebru, Hosaena & Khan, Huma & Lambrecht, Isabel, 2016. "Perceived land tenure security and rural transformation: Empirical evidence from Ghana:," IFPRI discussion papers 1545, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Thomas Vendryes, 2014. "Peasants Against Private Property Rights: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 971-995, December.
    5. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus & Goldstein, Markus, 2014. "Environmental and gender impacts of land tenure regularization in Africa: Pilot evidence from Rwanda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 262-275.
    6. Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Payongayong, Ellen & Aidoo, J. B. & Otsuka, Keijiro, 1999. "Women's land rights in the transition to individualized ownership," FCND discussion papers 58, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Gwendoline Promsopha, 2016. "Are free loans of land really free? An exploratory analysis of risk-coping motives in land arrangements in the Northeast of Thailand," Post-Print hal-01401878, HAL.
    8. Tom Bundervoet, 2006. "Livestock, Activity Choices and Conflict: Evidence from Burundi," HiCN Working Papers 24, Households in Conflict Network.
    9. Gwendoline Promsopha, 2016. "Temporary transfers of land and risk-coping mechanisms in Thailand," Working Papers hal-01409110, HAL.
    10. Gwendoline Promsopha, 2018. "Risk†Coping, Land Tenure And Land Markets: An Overview Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 176-193, February.
    11. Kotchikpa Gabriel Lawin & Lota Tamini, 2018. "Droits de propriété foncière et performance des petits producteurs agricoles des pays en développement : une synthèse de la littérature empirique," CIRANO Working Papers 2018s-05, CIRANO.
    12. Estelle Koussoubé, 2014. "What Drives Land Sales and Rentals in Rural Africa: Evidence from Western Burkina Faso," Working Papers DT/2014/10, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    13. Boué, Céline & Colin, Jean-Philippe, 2018. "Land certification as a substitute or complement to local procedures? Securing rural land transactions in the Malagasy highlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 192-200.
    14. Marco Gardini, 2012. "Land Transactions and Chieftaincies in Southwestern Togo," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 47(1), pages 51-72.
    15. Bouquet, Emmanuelle, 2009. "State-Led Land Reform and Local Institutional Change: Land Titles, Land Markets and Tenure Security in Mexican Communities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1390-1399, August.
    16. Pauline Peters & Daimon Kambewa, 2007. "Whose Security? Deepening Social Conflict over ‘Customary’ Land in the Shadow of Land Tenure Reform in Malawi," CID Working Papers 142, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    17. Klaus Deininger & Songqing Jin, 2008. "Land Sales and Rental Markets in Transition: Evidence from Rural Vietnam," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 70(1), pages 67-101, February.
    18. Francis Mwesigye & Tomoya Matsumoto, 2013. "Rural-rural Migration and Land Conflicts: Implications on Agricultural Productivity in Uganda," GRIPS Discussion Papers 13-17, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    19. Alia, Didier & Kusunose, Yoko & Theriault, Veronique, 2016. "Land rental, farm investment, productivity, and efficiency in Burkina Faso," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236169, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Joireman, S.F., 2008. "The Mystery of Capital Formation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights and Customary Law," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1233-1246, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; Land Debate; Anthropology; Land Conflicts; Property; Social Inequality; Commodification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

    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:cid:wpfacu:141. 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: Chuck McKenney (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ciharus.html .

    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.