《aer.100.2.130 Creating Property Rights Land Banks in Ghana》.pdf

American Economic Review: Papers Proceedings 100 (May 2010): 130–134 /articles.php?doi=10.1257/aer.100.2.130 Creating Property Rights: Land Banks in Ghana By Ernest Aryeetey and Christopher Udry* Insecure property rights over land have multi- commercial purposes, multiple simultaneous ple ramifications for agriculture and the organiza- transactions on the same plot have become more tion of rural economic activity (Timothy Besley frequent, and there is greatly increased inse- and Maitreesh Ghatak 2009). The risk that land curity (Ato Onoma 2010). There is a high risk will be expropriated deters investment. Insecure factor built into prices for land, with buyers pre- property rights reduce the ability of borrowers to pared to pay a premium for land where security pledge land as collateral and thus tighten credit of tenure is less likely to be a problem. constraints. Ill-defined property rights over land A well-developed and efficient land titling can inhibit land transactions—rentals or sales— and registration system would provide for the and potential gains from trade are lost. Scarce development of depersonalized land transac- resources, like labor, may be devoted to protect- tions and a separation of the rights of owners and ing one’s insecure rights over plots. users. Despite the failure of repeated attempts at In Ghana, land rights are typically gained by constructing such land registration systems in virtue of membership in a corporate group (e.g., Ghana, there are currently under way additional extended family), but a