In Tradition We Trust: The Political Economy of Property Rights

• In Event: Poster Session: Dynamics of Authoritarianism in China & New Research in African Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: New Research in African Politics

Abstract

How does identity influence the land tenure regime that smallholder farmers adopt in contexts where customary land tenure systems prevail? In this paper, I argue that whereas autochthonous smallholder farmers may obtain land security in this context, non-native farmers prefer individualistic property rights. Using information from the CGAP Smallholder Household Surveys and Ethnologue, I test this argument for the case of smallholder farmers in five African countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. I show that (i) native smallholder farmers have a 13.5% lower probability of adopting individualistic property rights than farmers considered non-native (migrants); (ii) this effect, however, is not present for households with a female head; (iii) individualistic property rights are linked to formal sources of borrowing, yet there are no significant effects in the form of labor engaged. The paper has important policy implications as it informs on the salient role of ethnicity in shaping land tenure regimes.

Author

• Alma Alicia Bezares Calderon, Pitzer College