Property Rights in a Very Poor Country : Tenure Insecurity and Investment in Ethiopia

Ali, Daniel Ayalew ; Dercon, Stefan ; Gautam, Madhur

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGENTS;    AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS;    AGRICULTURAL LAND;    AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION;    AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4363
RP-ID  :  WPS4363

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper provides evidence from one ofthe poorest countries of the world that the property rightsmatter for efficiency, investment, and growth. With all landstate-owned, the threat of land redistribution never appearsfar off the agenda. Land rental and leasing have been madelegal, but transfer rights remain restricted and theperception of continuing tenure insecurity remains quitestrong. Using a unique panel data set, this studyinvestigates whether transfer rights and tenure insecurityaffect household investment decisions, focusing on trees andshrubs. The panel data estimates suggest that limitedperceived transfer rights, and the threat of expropriation,negatively affect long-term investment in Ethiopianagriculture, contributing to the low returns from land andperpetuating low growth and poverty.