The public good elements associated with providing the technical infrastructure typically required for securing property rights, and the potential network effects associated with this activity, provide a strong rationale for government involvement in establishing the infrastructure and mechanisms needed to record, administer, and enforce land rights and by these actions strengthen the rule of law. Box 10.2 Land tenure, land distribution, and poverty Land redistribution can be a powerful mechanism to benefit poor people. Landless rural people typically have a higher incidence of poverty (see figure). More equitable land distribution is associated with lower poverty rates and more rapid agricultural growth, which result partly from the higher productivity and greater use of labor on small farms. Secure tenure status raises productivity, and access to land broadens employment options and provides incentives for families to employ their labor and management skills in productive, income-generating activities. Importantly, land ownership (or secure tenure) also confers social status in most cultures and improves opportunities to build social and human capital. 
|
Tenure security in the form of well-defined, secure, and transferable land rights is a key precondition for land markets. Well-functioning land markets are important because they transfer land to its best use, improve overall production efficiency, and provide the basis for the operation of financial markets in which land can be used as collateral. Although land sales markets provide incentives for long-term investment and structural change, they may be less accessible to poor populations. Land rental markets may provide access to land at a lower cost and help families respond to outside shocks and off-farm employment opportunities. During the 1990s, the Bank accumulated broad expertise in land-related issues, policy dialogue, and investments. The main focus of the Bank’s land-related investments has been to formalize land rights through registration and improve access to credit. Projects include facilitating free, public sector-managed registration in Central and Eastern Europe and improving land administration systems in Latin America and East Asia. The Bank has also supported transformation of the farming sector in transition economies and promoted community-managed land reform programs in Brazil, Colombia, and South Africa. Key Issues in Land Administration Lending for Bank land policy and administration projects in 2001 totaled US$195 million, 92 percent of which was for land titling and administration. Limited financing was provided for land policy and governance (7 percent), land reform (1 percent), and common property resources (less than 1 percent). More recently, Bank land projects broadened to address the operational and financial sustainability of land administration systems by supporting the creation of property rights and mechanisms for titling, registration, transfer, dispute resolution, and revenue collection. Projects have also supported the development of infrastructure required to facilitate land market transactions, such as standards, processes, information systems, and mapping technologies (box 10.3).     
|
RSS