Titling Program Research Articles

Property rights and risk aversion: Evidence from a titling program

Abstract Evidence suggests that major events, like war or natural disasters, affect risk attitudes. This paper shows that similar effects can also be associated with institutional changes, such as improved property rights. Using the case of a large titling program in Peru, we find that the program reduced risk aversion. The effects are sizable, persistent, and seem to be driven by improved security of tenure. These results highlight an understudied channel through which property rights could shape economic outcomes.

Does the land titling program promote rural housing land transfer in China? Evidence from household surveys in Hubei Province

Unsecured property rights to rural housing land (RHL) have impeded the development of the RHL market, resulting in inefficient rural land-use and resource allocation in China. The Chinese government implemented the rural land titling program as an institutional reform to provide rural households with secure property rights to RHL. The program has been implemented since 2011, yet its effects upon RHL transfers have not been adequately investigated through empirical studies. Here we conducted household surveys in 39 villages consisting of inner-suburbs, outer-suburbs, and scenic rural areas in Hubei Province, China, and received valid responses from 361 households. Descriptive statistics were used to explore and summarize this survey data, and a difference-in-differences (DID) regression model was built to examine the effects of land titling on RHL transfer. Three main results were found: (1) Land titling significantly promoted RHL transfers in the inner-suburbs but contributed little to RHL transfers in the outer-suburbs or scenic rural areas. (2) The effect of land titling on RHL transfer depended significantly on how rural households interpreted the institutional reform: it proved more effective where there already existed a market for RHL transactions, and rural households have recognized the market value and expect secure property rights to RHL. (3) Household characteristics, such as the number of persons, the income and employment structure, the quantity and size of RHL possessed, also impacted decision-making regarding RHL transfers; hence, they influenced households’ susceptibility to the effects of land titling. The findings of this research suggest area-specific policies for the Chinese government to deepen the institutional reform of RHL and improve the overall efficiency of rural land allocation.

Property Rights and Violence in Indigenous Land in Brazil

Brazil holds a large proportion of all indigenous land in the world, much of it in the Amazon. The rights of indigenous people to their land has been formally recognized since colonial times and was significantly strengthened in the 1988 Constitution, providing the legal basis for several efforts to identify, demarcate and title this land. Despite these protections, indigenous rights have been encroached and their land regularly pillaged by an expanding economy. Can stronger property rights prevent the suffering and devastation that have resulted from this process or is this an inevitable side effect of economic development and modernization? In this paper I analyze data on all indigenous lands in Brazil to measure the impact of property rights on land-related violence and murder, controlling for geographical and economic factors. Property rights for indigenous land in Brazil go through a four-stage titling process, providing useful variability for identifying the impact of these rights. Further variation arises from the several land titling programs pursued by the government over several decades, allowing me to separate different levels of property rights security. The results highlight that indigenous land in Brazil covers a wide variety of contexts, peoples, and situations, each posing different challenges. Yet, the evidence shows that, on average, clearer property right can reduce land-related violence.

Is collective titling enough to protect forests? Evidence from Afro-descendant communities in the Colombian Pacific region

Abstract During the mid-1990s, one of the most ambitious land reforms in recent decades took place in Colombia. The reform recognized collective land rights of almost 6 million hectares to Afro-Colombian communities, with the dual goals of improving livelihoods and preserving valuable ecosystems. We estimate the impact of this collective land titling program on forest cover using panel data and a difference-in-difference empirical strategy. We find that overall, collective titling significantly reduces deforestation rates, but the effect varies substantially by sub-region. We observe that the larger effects are in Narino and Valle del Cauca. Our qualitative analysis suggest that this might be the result of local community-based organization defining the rules for community use of natural resources and the expulsion of private companies dedicated to timber exploitation and oil palm plantations. We conclude that under the adequate conditions, collective titling can lead to forest conservation.

What Affects Participation in the Farmland Rental Market in Rural China? Evidence from CHARLS

Land fragmentation and the small size of land parcels are still the major bottlenecks for agriculture sustainable development in rural China, and an efficient land rental market could consolidate land plots and realize agricultural management at a moderate scale. However, transaction cost is still the main obstacle of land transfer. It is, therefore, essential to reduce the excessive transaction costs in the process of transfer; the primary task is to identify the roots of transaction costs. In order to accurately identify the sources of transaction costs, a generalized ordered Logit model with thresholds that allowed transaction costs to affect different directions of land transfer was developed using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey in 2015. The results suggested that the roots of transaction costs presented significant differences regarding the supply and demand of cropland. For the supply of land, the land titling program, land transfer intermediaries, and well-planned roads were the three most important factors that reduced transaction costs. For the demand of land, the three critical measures for reducing the transaction costs were well-planned roads, land consolidation, and the land titling program. The government should continue to push forward the land titling program and land consolidation projects in rural China, especially in hilly and mountainous areas. The infrastructure that greatly restricted agricultural development should be improved at a moderate level and the system of land circulating intermediary services at the township level should be established.

Ecological costs of discrimination: racism, red cedar and resilience in farm bill conservation policy in Oklahoma

AbstractThis article makes the case that the legacy of institutional racism by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is connected to the encroachment of the invasive speciesJuniperus virginiana(eastern red cedar) on farming land. Red cedar's encroachment impacts Black farmers disproportionately in Oklahoma, even as it undermines broader USDA conservation goals and ability to adapt to climate change. As such, this case study illustrates the shortcomings of Farm Bill Conservation Title programs to address ecological issues across the landscape—shortcomings that hinder farmers' ability to carry out long-term adaptation and mitigate risks. Conversely, we show how the work of Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Inc. and the Rural Coalition has been vital allies in Black farmers inter-related struggles against racial injustice and red cedar. Thus, we argue community-based organizations have a pivotal, but under-supported, role to play in the shaping and application of farm bill programs and funds.

Effects of cover crops on multiple ecosystem services: Ten meta-analyses of data from arable farmland in California and the Mediterranean

Cover crops are considered to be beneficial for multiple ecosystem services, and they have been widely promoted through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the EU and Farm Bill Conservation Title Programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), in the USA. However, it can be difficult to decide whether the beneficial effects of cover crops on some ecosystem services are likely to outweigh their harmful effects on other services, and thus to decide whether they should be promoted by agricultural policy in specific situations. We used meta-analysis to quantify the effects of cover crops on five ecosystem services (food production, climate regulation, soil and water regulation, and weed control) in arable farmland in California and the Mediterranean, based on 326 experiments reported in 57 publications. In plots with cover crops, there was 13% less water, 9% more organic matter and 41% more microbial biomass in the soil, 27% fewer weeds, and 15% higher carbon dioxide emissions (but also more carbon stored in soil organic matter), compared to control plots with bare soils or winter fallows. Cash crop yields were 16% higher in plots that had legumes as cover crops (compared to controls) but 7% lower in plots that had non-legumes as cover crops. Soil nitrogen content was 41% lower, and nitrate leaching was 53% lower, in plots that had non-legume cover crops (compared to controls) but not significantly different in plots that had legumes. We did not find enough data to quantify the effects of cover crops on biodiversity conservation, pollination, or pest regulation. These gaps in the evidence need to be closed if cover crops continue to be widely promoted. We suggest that this novel combination of multiple meta-analyses for multiple ecosystem services could be used to support multi-criteria decision making about agri-environmental policy.

Sin zanahoria y con garrote: prevalencia del castigo en el diseño institucional de los programas de formalización para sustituir cultivos de uso ilícito en Colombia

Los programas de formalización de la propiedad creados como instrumento para la sustitución de cultivos de uso ilícito se sustentan en el supuesto de que existe una relación entre la seguridad de los derechos de propiedad de los campesinos y la disminución en las áreas que se utilizan para la siembra de cultivos de uso ilícito (incentivo positivo). Esto, por un lado, porque la propiedad conlleva el acceso a bienes públicos y recursos privados, ventajas que se obtienen solo cuando se tiene el dominio sobre un predio. Por otro, la política contiene incentivos negativos, los nuevos propietarios tienen poderosos motivos para no resembrar, puesto que hacerlo implicaría la aplicación de la extinción del dominio. En este artículo mostramos, desde el análisis institucional, que las ventajas de la formalización no son una consecuencia necesaria e inmediata de la titularidad del derecho de dominio, y que, por el contrario, la extinción del dominio sí tiene la potencialidad de ocurrir y de agravar la situación de la población vulnerable, la cual, sin la adecuada dotación de bienes, no podría cumplir por sí misma los compromisos de la formalización.

Survey-based modeling of land-use intensity in agricultural frontiers of the Argentine dry Chaco

The rise of large-scale farms in modern-day agricultural frontiers has frequently displaced and fragmented smallholder farming due to an unbalanced competition for land and water resources. A better understanding of land-use decision making of heterogeneous farming systems and farmer behavior is needed for tailoring policy instruments that help shaping these frontiers towards more efficient, equitable, and sustainable outcomes. Here we analyze a survey of 235 land users, ranging from large-scale agribusiness enterprises to small-scale subsistence-oriented farmers, across the Northern Argentine Dry Chaco. We use the survey data and auxiliary geospatial data in a Bayesian network to quantify the key determinants of gross farm revenues for the surveyed farms and simulate how the farm revenues respond to alternative policy scenarios. If farms are crop or cattle farms as well as the level of intensity of farming explained a large proportion of the variation in revenues for commercial and semi-subsistence farms. Revenues in commercial farms are mainly formed by the size of the farm and the level of capital input. In contrast, access to credit and land tenure are substantially more important in shaping gross revenues in the semi-subsistence farms. The simulation of a scenario with a hypothetical land titling program combined with better access to credits suggests that unlocking these barriers could generate higher revenues for semi-subsistence farmers without compromising the revenues that can be attained by the large fully commercialized farms. Our finding hence underpins claims that secure land titles can crucially benefit particularly the economically marginalized and smaller land users and, in that way, may also contribute to more inclusive rural development.

Insider Takes All! Value of Political Connections in a Property Rights Reform

Despite the literature on rural land property rights, studies on urban land property rights are rare. This paper studies the impact of an urban land titling program on firm investment. It finds that the program leads to increased investment rate for titling firms, and the positive effect holds only for politically connected firms. The effects are likely causal, because they are more pronounced for firms that are more likely to benefit from strengthened property rights. Connected titling firms experienced fewer disputes than nonconnected titling firms after the program, and the results remain robust when using instrumental variable estimation.

Land administration practices in Tanzania: a replica of past mistakes

Purpose This paper aims to examine current land administration practices (LA) in Tanzania to pinpoint divergences and convergences from past experiences that necessitated the 1990s reforms. Design/methodology/approach Literature review was carried out to understand historical practices which were then matched with current regulatory framework and observable LA practices captured through in-depth individual and group interviews of LA professionals in the public and private sectors, as well as LA customers in Dodoma Region Tanzania. Findings The current practices and government’s responses through land law reforms is largely a replica of what happened in the pre- and post-independence eras until just before the 1990s reform and is still characterised by corruption, inefficiency in service delivery and poor coordination among LA actors. It introduces superficial land governance structure over customary land as it was during colonialism; induces a temporary hikes in title delivery without any sustainability prospects just as it was immediately after independence; and induces more uncertainties for local land holders/investors than it addresses as it was during the implementation of the 1982 agricultural policy. Furthermore, the current awareness education during rural land titling programmes is inadequate to address the perceived risk of land alienation and dispossession among the poor. Practical implications A uniform LA system and tenure type throughout Tanzania that cater for the need of the time rather than a fragmented system of LA, which fuels maladministration and inefficiency in LA, is dearly needed. Originality/value Convergence of current LA practices with some of the worst past experiences explains some failures in land policy reform in Tanzania and the developing world in general.

Is Collective Titling Enough to Protect Forests? Evidence from Afro-Descendant Communities in the Colombian Pacific Region

During the mid-1990s, one of the most ambitious land reforms in recent decades took place in Colombia. The reform recognized collective land rights of 5 million hectares by Afro-Colombian groups, with the dual goals of improving livelihoods and preserving valuable ecosystems. We estimate the impact of this collective land titling program on forest cover using panel data and a difference-in-difference empirical strategy. We find that overall, collective titling significantly reduces deforestation rates, but the effect varies substantially by sub-region. We observe that the larger effects are in Narino and Valle del Cauca especially in places with higher deforestation threat, closer to the forest frontier, to roads, and to navigable rivers, as well as in places without illegal crops. Our qualitative analysis suggest that this might be the result of communities being able to expel private companies from their lands which is more challenging with actors promoting illegal crops. We conclude that under the adequate conditions, titling can lead to forest conservation.

Land Tenure Systems and Property Rights: Socio-Legal Studies in the Colombian Case

This article aims to propose a methodological design to explain and assess the land titling programs that have been implemented in Colombia since 1991. The methodology incorporates elements from social and legal sciences in order to analyze the results of land titling programmes in terms of the campesinos’ legal and social relationship with their land. This methodology focuses on evaluating whether land titling programs produced a change in the beneficiaries’ land rights. Consequently, the proposed analysis helps to understand how legal regulations affect and transform social relationships.

Shifting visions of property under competing political regimes: changing uses of Côte d'Ivoire's 1998 Land Law

AbstractLand law reform through registration and titling is often viewed as a technocratic, good-governance step toward building market economies and depoliticising land transactions. In actual practice, however, land registration and titling programmes can be highly partisan, bitterly contentious, and carried forward by political logics that diverge strongly from the market-enhancing vision. This paper uses evidence from Côte d'Ivoire to support and develop this claim. In Côte d'Ivoire after 1990, multiple, opposing political logics drove land law reform as it was pursued by successive governments representing rival coalitions of the national electorate. Between the mid-1990s and 2016, different logics – alternatively privileging user rights, the ethnic land rights of autochthones, and finally a state-building logic – prevailed in succession as national government crafted and then sought to implement the new 1998 land law. The case underscores the extent to which deeply political questions are implicated in land registration and titling policies.

Land titling program and farmland rental market participation in China: Evidence from pilot provinces

Because of the incompleteness and instability of property rights, high transaction costs have hindered the development of the farmland rental market in China and reduced the efficiency of resource allocation. In an attempt to remedy this, a land titling program (LTP) that removed the obstacles caused by ambiguous property rights was proposed by the Chinese Central Government in 2008, and was implemented as a series of pilot projects in several provinces. We developed a series of econometric models using data from the 2012 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) to quantitatively estimate the impact of this program on the farmland rental market, incorporating representative examples from each of two pilot provinces in eastern, central, and western China. The results of this study suggest that the proportion of people leasing farmland increased by approximately 3.9% as a result of land titling, while the rent received increased by about one quarter due to the implementation of this system. Although the effects of this program varied across regions and the hysteresis of land titling was significant, the proportion of people leasing farmland as well as rent increased with increasing implementation time. We, therefore, recommend that the Chinese Central Government continues to implement the LTP across the country, and that farmland maps are utilized to solve disputes caused by the measurement of farmland areas and ambiguous property rights. It will also be necessary to strictly implement the LTP nationwide in order to ensure that both the stability and authority of the policies are not compromised.

Usability evaluation of user interface of thesis title review system

Presentation of programs with user interface that can be accessed online through the website of course greatly provide user benefits. User can easily access the program they need. There are usability values that serve as a benchmark for the success of a user accessible program, ie efficiency, effectiveness, and convenience. These usability values also determine the development of the program for the better use. Therefore, on the review title thesis program that will be implemented in STT Dumai was measured usability evaluation. It aims to see which sides are not yet perfect and need to be improved to improve the performance and utilization of the program. Usability evaluation was measured by using smartPLS software. Database used was the result of respondent questionnaires that include questions about the experience when they used program. The result of a review of thesis title program implemented in STT Dumai has an efficiency value of 22.615, the effectiveness of 20.612, and satisfaction of 33.177.

Sharp injuries: a cross-sectional study among health care workers in a provincial teaching hospital in China

BackgroundThe objectives of this study are to investigate the incidence and reporting behavior of sharp injuries among healthcare workers (HCWs) and identify the risk factors associated with these injuries.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in February 2017 in a provincial teaching hospital in China. Data were collected from 901 HCWs using a self-administered questionnaire which included demographic information, experience, and reporting behavior of sharp injuries. Stepwise logistical regression was used to analyze the risk factors.ResultsHCWs (248 [27.5%]) had sustained a sharp injury in the previous year. Factors including seniority, job category, title, education, department, and training programs were associated with the occurrence of sharp injuries. According to the stepwise logistical regression, seniority, and training programs were the risk factors associated with the occurrence of sharp injuries. Of 248 sharp injuries, 130 HCWs were exposed to blood. Only 44 (33.9%) HCWs reported their injuries to the concerned body. The main reasons for not reporting the sharp injuries were as follows: perception that the extent of the injury was light (30.2%), having antibodies (27.9%), and unaware of injury (16.3%).ConclusionsSharp injuries in the studied hospital were common and were likely to be underreported. Therefore, an effective reporting system and sufficient education on occupational safety should be implemented by the relevant institutions. Moreover, it is important to take effective measures to manage sharp injuries in HCWs and provide guidance for their prevention.

Rural Development and Food Security in the 21st Century: A Review and Proposal

This review of recent research on rural development and food security makes clear that despite global trends favoring urbanization and large farm expansions, the most efficacious ways of generating advances in rural incomes and agronomic productivity are to promote land titling programs, agricultural extension services, a broad distribution of rural-located industrial projects, and sustained engagement with social capital-based rural networks.1

Titling land to conserve forests: The case of Cuyabeno Reserve in Ecuador

Abstract We used a mixed-methods approach to assess the impact of a ‘forest-friendly’ titling program on previously untitled lands surrounding the Cuyabeno Reserve in Ecuador. Such programs are part of an increasing trend in tenure formalization intended to simultaneously strengthen tenure security, reduce deforestation, and open the door for more incentive-based conservation programs. We use quasi-experimental methods to estimate and compare the impact of titling on forest outcomes for lands that are titled with certain limitations on the ownership bundle of rights, alongside lands titled but without these restrictions. This quantitative analysis is paired with results from a series of focus group interviews with landowners to understand their experiences with the titling effort, particularly tied to the restrictions. Our results point to a statistically significant impact of titling with restrictions on reducing deforestation by 34%, whereas titling without such restrictions resulted in no significant effect. When we explore impacts according to annual deforestation rates, the results suggest that titled lands are buffered from the surges in deforestation that otherwise occurred on untitled lands and more broadly across the region. While ‘forest-friendly’ restrictions had more of an effect on forest outcomes than titled lands without, the insights shared by landowners suggest important concerns about equity and unjust burdens on current households that could risk livelihood options for future generations.

Reverting to Informality: Unregistered Property Transactions and the Erosion of the Titling Reform in Peru

Titling programs have focused only on providing initial tenure security, but have not paid attention to the process of maintaining the formality of future property transactions. Evidence shows that properties become de-regularized due to unregistered transactions in urban slums, reducing the households’ ability to reap the potential benefits of tenure security in the future. We exploit a natural experiment provided by the elimination of a registration system targeted to the poor in Peru to identify the effects of increasing the costs and complexity of registering property transactions in urban areas. We found that the elimination of such system led to a significant reduction in the probability of registering a transaction, including those transactions that involved a change in ownership. This presents an important threat to maintaining the benefits of the titling reform in the long run.