Private Property in Africa: Creation Stories of Economy, State, and Culture

Abstract

Pressures to finance and promote economic development throughout Africa are linked to policy efforts to secure land tenure by advaning private property regimes over common property traditions. In this paper, I examine three prominent arguments invoked to eplain, support, or oppose these policies: the story of Scarcity, the story of the Overbearing State, and the story of Traditional Culture. The paper critically examines the claims of each of these stories and argues that while each is useful, none, alone, is adequate. Copeting stories explain or defend competing tenures, much as they do in American proerty debates.