The political economy of land reform

Kenneth Houngbedji

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: This chapter traces the complex trajectory of land tenure reforms in Benin since the democratic transition and liberalisation of the economy in the early 1990s. It shows that conceptions of the problem of land tenure insecurity and the responses to it have often clashed. Attention paid to sectors (rural vs urban) has varied as well as the timing and the nature of land tenure reforms. The solution of formal land titling propounded by international donor and local supporters has been considered by many as both inaccessible and unsuited to the needs of the majority of the population, hence the search for legal and institutional alternatives. This history of land reforms reveals intricate conflicts involving corporatist struggles, conflicts of interest between different stakeholders, and divergent social choices. It highlights the political economy dimension of land tenure problems and their instrumentalisation by some actors and competing public policy networks, the strengths and limitations of attempts to implement policy reforms, and the influence of donors in reform processes. It also questions the capacity of the intended reforms to modify practices and have enough inclusiveness.

Keywords: BENIN (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Bourguignon, F. (ed.); Houssa, R. (ed.); Platteau, J.P. (ed.); Reding, P. (ed.). State capture and rent-seeking in Benin : the institutional diagnostic project, Cambridge University Press, pp.247-297, 2023, 978-1-009-27853-9. ⟨10.1017/9781009278522.015⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04430763

DOI: 10.1017/9781009278522.015

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().