Land Markets

Even though it is well established that many of the historical inequities of land access that underlie dualism in access to assets in developing countries were due to non-economic factors rather than market forces, policy makers and civil society in many of these countries have long held a strong suspicion against the possible scope of markets. Failure to distinguish between the (economic and non-economic) forces at play in the broader environment and the operation of markets per se implies that, rather than being seen as mechanisms that can bring about productivity and equity enhancing transfers, markets are still perceived largely as institutions which, if not controlled by government intervention, tend to exacerbate land concentration and landlessness.