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Selecting the State or Choosing the Chief? The Political Determinants of Smallholder Land Titling

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  • Honig, Lauren
Abstract
This article examines the effect of customary institutions on smallholder land titling in Sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that the individual’s status within the customary institution conditions his or her demand for land titles. Individuals with greater customary privilege gain advantages from maintaining customary property rights, including stronger tenure security. For households with lower privilege within the customary institution, the benefits of adopting state land titles are higher. Analysis of an original survey of smallholder farmers in Senegal and an existing survey in Zambia demonstrates that households with greater customary privilege are less likely to adopt state land titles, independent of ethnicity, wealth, and land values. I find additional support for the argument in measures of increased tenure security for those with greater customary privilege. Qualitative interviews with customary authorities and smallholder farmers help establish the mechanism. These findings update the dominant wisdom that land values and material transaction costs drive smallholder land titling, demonstrating the important effect of status within the customary institution on demand for land titles. By examining the political underpinnings of customary property rights, this article contributes to our understandings of which farmers benefit most from land titling. This has implications for the improved design of land governance programs.

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  • Honig, Lauren, 2017. "Selecting the State or Choosing the Chief? The Political Determinants of Smallholder Land Titling," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 94-107.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:100:y:2017:i:c:p:94-107
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.07.028
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    2. Boone, Catherine & Bado, Brice & Mah Dion, Aristide & Irigo, Zibo, 2021. "Push, pull, and push-back to land certification: regional dynamics in pilot certification projects in Côte d'Ivoire," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107532, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus, 2021. "Does title increase large farm productivity? Institutional determinants of large land-based investments' performance in Zambia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315328, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Genicot, Garance & Hernandez-de-Benito, Maria, 2022. "Women’s land rights and village institutions in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    5. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus, 2022. "Institutional determinants of large land-based investments’ performance in Zambia: Does title enhance productivity and structural transformation?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    6. Winters, Matthew S. & Conroy-Krutz, Jeffrey, 2021. "Preferences for traditional and formal sector justice institutions to address land disputes in rural Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    7. Noufé, Tiatité, 2023. "Impact of land tenure security through customary law on agricultural productivity in Burkina Faso: Propensity score matching approaches," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    8. Gochberg, William, 2021. "The social costs of titling land: Evidence from Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    9. 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).
    10. Pablo Balán & Augustin Bergeron & Gabriel Tourek & Jonathan L. Weigel, 2022. "Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(3), pages 762-797, March.
    11. Ali, Merima & Fjeldstad, Odd‐Helge & Shifa, Abdulaziz B., 2020. "European colonization and the corruption of local elites: The case of chiefs in Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 80-100.
    12. Adekola, Oluwafemi & Krigsholm, Pauliina & Riekkinen, Kirsikka, 2023. "Adapted institutional analysis and development framework for understanding customary land institutions in sub-Saharan Africa – A case study from Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    13. Weigel, Jonathan & Balán, Pablo & Bergeron, Augustin & Tourek, Gabriel, 2020. "Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the D.R. Congo," CEPR Discussion Papers 15138, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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