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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment
Author:Platteau, Jean-PhilippeISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:Development and Change
Volume:27
Issue:1
Period:January
Pages:29-86
Language:English
Geographic term:Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:land reform
customary law
land law
Politics and Government
Military, Defense and Arms
External link:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.1996.tb00578.x
Abstract:A central tenet of the evolutionary theory of land rights is that under the joint impact of increasing population pressure and market integration, land rights spontaneously evolve towards rising individualization and that this evolution eventually leads the holders of rights to press for the creation of duly formalized private property rights - a demand to which the State will have an incentive to respond. This article looks critically at the relevance of the evolutionary theory of landrights as currently applied to sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the effects of land titling on land security, on the functioning of the land market, and on credit and investment and pays attention to the mechanism of demand for, and supply of, land titling. The question of whether the establishment of private property rights is an advisable structural reform in the present circumstances is examined. It is argued that most of the beneficial effects usually ascribed to such a reform are grossly overestimated and that, given its high cost, it is generally advisable to look for more appropriate solutions that rely on existing informal mechanisms at community level. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
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