Publication

This paper examines the implications for efficiency and equity of the privatization of common property and the formalization of individualized land rights in sub-Saharan Africa. It provides evidence indicating that efforts to formalize and enforce private land rights in Africa will not necessarily result in increased agricultural production or reduced environmental degradation. The paper next addresses whether the trend toward individualized land rights, which is evolving in much of Africa, should be further stimulated and supported by state intervention.