Readings in Development Microeconomics


Book Description

Volume II of this two-volume set focuses on empirical work.




Land Tenure and Rural Development


Book Description

This publication deals with key issues in land tenure, especially as they relate to food insecurity and rural development situations. Land tenure issues are frequently ignored in rural development interventions, with often long-lasting, negative results. This guide is designed to assist technical officers in governments and civil society in understanding why and how land tenure issues should be considered in rural development projects. It analyses important contexts such as environmental degradation, gender discrimination, and conflicts, where land tenure is currently of critical concern.




The Profits of Power


Book Description

We examine the impact of ambiguous and contested land rights on investment and productivity in agricultural in Akwapim, Ghana. We show that individuals who hold powerful positions in a local political hierarchy have more secure tenure rights, and that as a consequence they invest more in land fertility and have substantially higher output. The intensity of investments on different plots cultivated by a given individual correspond to that individual's security of tenure over those specific plots, and in turn to the individual's position in the political hierarchy relevant to those specific plots. We interpret these results in the context of a simple model of the political allocation of land rights in local matrilineages.




Global Restructuring and Land Rights in Ghana


Book Description

The report highlights the long history of commodification of land and labour in Ghana, linked to speculative activities and more recently to the activities of international capital, agribusiness, international agricultural centres, and agencies of the state. It makes the case for a new land, agrarian and natural resource regime that prioritises domestic economic needs to provide security of livelihood to the generality of the people.




Reality and Rhetoric


Book Description

Reality and Rhetoric is the culmination of P. T. Bauer's observations and reflections on Third World economies over a period of thirty years. He critically examines the central issues of market versus centrally planned economies, industrial development, official direct and multinational resource transfers to the Third World, immigration policy in the Third World, and economic methodology. In addition, he has written a fascinating account of recent papal doctrine on income inequality and redistribution in the Third World. The major themes that emerge are the importance of non-economic variables, particularly people's aptitudes and mores, to economic growth; the unfortunate results of some current methods of economics; the subtle but important effects of the exchange economy on development; and the politicization of economic life in the Third World. As in Bauer's previous writings, this book is marked by elegant prose, apt examples, a broad economic-historical perspective, and the masterful use of informal reasoning.




Agricultural Landownership in Transitional Economies


Book Description

In this collection of essays, edited by Gene Wunderlich, individual authors from various institutions discuss the economics and political issues surrounding land reform and the privatization of agricultural landownership in formerly socialized economies. The authors provide a solid framework for understanding how changes in landownership affect farm organization and production, wealth distribution, the environment, and public services. The subject matter is particularly relevant, although not limited to, the formerly socialized economies of Central and Eastern Europe. This book will be particularly useful in economic development courses and classes studying comparative economic systems. This book also provides excellent background for consultants and policymakers. Contents: Foreword; Preface; Creating Private Ownership and Markets in the Agricultural Land of Formerly Socialist Countries (Wunderlich); Landed Property in Capitalist and Socialist Countries (Thiesenhusen); Changing Land Relations and Farming Structures in Formerly Socialist Countries (Lerman); Supporting Markets in the Agricultural Land of Transitional Economies (Munro-Faure); Farmland Conveyancing in Selected FAO Member Sates in Transition (Riddell); Agricultural Land Tax and the Transition to Market Economy (Muller); Authors.




Land Governance and Gender


Book Description

"This book offers conceptual and empirical studies of land governance, focusing on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure, and land-based gender concerns. Topics include "Creating new understandings," "Exploring alternative approaches for land management and land tenure," "Viewing vistas of tenure experiences across the globe," and "Stretching the gender perspectives""--




Land Management in Ghana


Book Description