Droits de propriété et modes d'accès à la terre en Afrique : une revue critique

Abstract

Property rights and tenancy arrangements in Africa : a critical survey. The authors review the main economic theories together with a number of African case studies and report a common area of confusion between land tenure and tenancy arrangements, drawing a distinction between their respective characteristics and implications. The objective is to clarify and suggest new lines of research and to investigate features that may be specific to Africa, especially compared with Asian data for which more published material is available. First comes a synthesis of the concepts of tenure and property rights as refined by new institutional economics. This approach would be more relevant if it were more specific about the notion of rule, which is sometimes oversimplified whereas it is fundamental to this sort of approach. A series of African cases are presented emphasising the possible juxtapositions and the changing nature of the systems of rights depending on the changing economic or demographic environments. The common dichotomy between private property, allegedly the only effecient system, and traditional systems is also discussed. Then comes an analysis of theories about the different land tenancy arrangements referring to different types of contract : wage earning, tenant farming and share-cropping. This last form of contract includes specific features covered by numerous studies as it is reputedly ineffecient despite being widespread. The different models used to try to solve this puzzle are reviewed, particularly, after those of Marshall and Cheung, models including the following explanatory factors : risk sharing, imperfect information and imperfect markets (incomplete or absent) that are characteristic of developing countries. These are illuminated by examples of contracts from West Africa. African data illustrate the complex nature of the links between property rights and contractual tenancy arrangements ; for example, the evolution of the terms of some sharecropping contracts over their lifetime is a striking feature of the African scene.