We present evidence from the first large-scale randomized-controlled trial of a land formalization program. We examine the link between land demarcation and investment in rural Benin in light of a model of agricultural production under insecure tenure. The demarcation process involved communities in the mapping and attribution of land rights; cornerstones marked parcel boundaries and offered lasting landmarks. The tenure security improvement through demarcation induces a 23 to 43 percent shift toward long-term investment on treated parcels. We explore gender and parcel location as relevant dimensions of heterogeneity. We find that female-managed landholdings in treated villages are more likely to be left fallow-an important soil fertility investment. Women respond to an exogenous tenure security change by shifting investment away from relatively secure, demarcated land and toward less secure land outside the village to guard those parcels.
Publié par l'Équipe d'assistance à la recherche La série des documents de travail consacrés à la recherche sur les politiques diffuse les conclusions des travaux en cours pour encourager l'échange d'idées sur les questions de développement. Elle a pour objectif de publier les résultats rapidement, même si la présentation n'en est pas définitive. Les études portent le nom de leurs auteurs qui doivent donc être cités. Les rapports portent le nom de leurs auteurs et doivent être cités en conséquence. Les observations, interprétations et conclusions présentées ici n'engagent que leurs auteurs et ne sauraient être attribuées à la Banque internationale pour la reconstruction et le développement/Banque mondiale et ses organisations affiliées, à des membres du Conseil des Administrateurs, ni aux pays qu'ils représentent Document de travail 7435 consacré à la recherche sur les politiques Ce rapport a été produit par la Région Afrique et le Groupe de recherche de Balnque Mondiale. Il s'inscrit dans le cadre d'une initiative de plus grande envergure lancée par la Banque mondiale pour donner libre accès à ses travaux de recherche et contribuer aux discussions consacrées aux politiques de développement dans le monde entier. Les documents de travail consacrés à la recherche sur les politiques sont également affichés sur le web à http://econ.worldbank.org. Il est également possible de contacter les auteurs aux adresses suivantes :
The difference-indifferences estimator measures the effect of a treatment or policy intervention by comparing change over time of the outcome variable across treatment groups. To interpret the estimate as a causal effect, this strategy requires that, in the absence of the treatment, the outcome variable followed the same trend in treated and untreated groups. This assumption may be implausible if selection for treatment is correlated with characteristics that affect the dynamic of the outcome variable. In this article, I describe the command asdid, which implements the semiparametric difference-indifferences (SDID) estimator of Abadie (2005, Review of Economic Studies 72: 1-19). The SDID is a reweighing technique that addresses the imbalance of characteristics between treated and untreated groups. Hence, it makes the parallel trend assumption more credible. In addition, the SDID estimator allows the use of covariates to describe how the average effect of the treatment varies for different groups of the treated population.
Many countries are formalizing customary land rights systems with the aim of improving agricultural productivity and facilitating community forest management. This paper evaluates the impact on tree cover loss of the first randomized control trial of such a program. Around 70,000 landholdings were demarcated and registered in randomly chosen villages in Benin, a country with a high rate of deforestation driven by demand for agricultural land. We estimate that the program reduced the area of forest loss in treated villages, with no evidence of anticipatory deforestation or negative spillovers to other areas. Surveys indicate that possible mechanisms include an increase in tenure security and an improvement in the effectiveness of community forest management. Overall, our results suggest that formalizing customary land rights in rural areas can be an effective way to reduce forest loss while improving agricultural investments.
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