TY - JOUR

T1 - Land sector reforms in ghana, kenya and vietnam

T2 - A comparative analysis of their effectiveness

AU - Narh, Peter

AU - Lambini, Cosmas Kombat

AU - Sabbi, Matthew

AU - Pham, Van Dien

AU - Nguyen, Trung Thanh

PY - 2016/6/1

Y1 - 2016/6/1

N2 - The notion that the formal titling and individualization of land rights in developing countries lead to higher investments in land and agricultural productivity holds sway in academic and development circles. In this paper, this notion is analyzed based on a comparative study of land reform programs and their implications for access to land, credit, and agricultural investments in Ghana, Kenya, and Vietnam. It focuses on how different access routes to land influence access to credit, and the transaction costs of land reform programs for agricultural investments. The paper concludes that in developing countries, the transaction costs of land reforms for investments can significantly increase if the influence of power is not addressed in order to reduce unequal access to land. The practical implementation of land reform is influenced by many factors, including the control on political power. Thus, measures must accompany implementation to check the use of power to derail land reform objectives. Moreover, the paper supports the argument that land reforms should be implemented in their local contexts so as to have positive effects on agriculture.

AB - The notion that the formal titling and individualization of land rights in developing countries lead to higher investments in land and agricultural productivity holds sway in academic and development circles. In this paper, this notion is analyzed based on a comparative study of land reform programs and their implications for access to land, credit, and agricultural investments in Ghana, Kenya, and Vietnam. It focuses on how different access routes to land influence access to credit, and the transaction costs of land reform programs for agricultural investments. The paper concludes that in developing countries, the transaction costs of land reforms for investments can significantly increase if the influence of power is not addressed in order to reduce unequal access to land. The practical implementation of land reform is influenced by many factors, including the control on political power. Thus, measures must accompany implementation to check the use of power to derail land reform objectives. Moreover, the paper supports the argument that land reforms should be implemented in their local contexts so as to have positive effects on agriculture.

KW - Access to land

KW - Credit

KW - Investment

KW - Land reform

KW - Transactions costs

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85010614150&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/land5020008

DO - 10.3390/land5020008

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85010614150

VL - 5

JO - Land

JF - Land

IS - 2

M1 - 8

ER -