Land Tenure,Tenure Security and Farm Efficiency: Panel Evidence from the Philippines

This article tests the relationships among formalised property rights, land tenure contracts and productive efficiency in farming. Using four rounds of panel data from 230 rice farms in the Philippines, we measure the effects of land tenure arrangements on farm efficiency using a stochastic production frontier model. We test for the allocative efficiency of observed land rental markets. We also test how land tenure security affects farmers' investment decisions. Results suggest that, despite the presence of formalised titles, the rental market remains inefficient at allocating land. In contrast, the unformalised tenure contracts used by farmers appear to provide tenure security.     

Balanced national development strategies: The construction of Innovation Cities in Korea

Korea has had a long tradition of centralized planning systems for national development. National spatial planning has played a crucial role in achieving the rapid economic growth and in stimulating the regional development that have been achieved over the last 40 years. However, as the national spatial planning has mainly been concerned with the creation of effective physical environments for economic development in certain areas, the concentration of political, economic and social activities has intensified in those areas, especially in the capital region. Despite the implementation of various policy measures, attempts to mitigate this concentration in the capital region have not been successful in achieving balanced national development.     

Land distribution and acquisition practices in Ghana's cocoa frontier: The impact of a state-regulated marketing system

Substantial differences in the size of landholdings among cocoa farmers in the Western Region – the last cocoa “frontier” in Ghana – are primarily a result of inheritance practices and the purchase of vast tracts of land by migrants in the initial period of the cocoa boom. Individual accumulation of land over the last decade has mainly taken place via inheritance (among indigenous farmers) without takeovers of land and dispossession of small-scale farmers outside the extended family. Land accumulation among migrant farmers is rare beyond the initial acquisition. Large-scale farmers transfer surplus from their higher volume of cocoa production into investments in non-farm activities and construction of new residential houses—and not in land acquisition based on market transactions. State regulation of the cocoa sector has spurred increased efficiency among private cocoa purchasing companies and thereby reduced the marginalization of farmers with small landholdings by preserving their access to a vital source of income. The unique character of the Ghanaian purchasing system is a major factor behind the relatively stable proportion in the access and control of land for cocoa between extended families.     

乡村工业化模式与农村土地制度变迁——一项对沿海地区集体经营性建设用地制度的研究

不同于一般的农地制度创新,沿海农村的土地制度变迁属于集体经营性建设用地的范畴,其核心是土地开发权的界定问题。乡村工业化既推动了土地开发权从国家向集体转移,也影响了这一权利的配置方向。本文研究发现,不同乡村工业化模式形塑出不同的土地制度,珠三角的外资充裕型、苏南的外资竞争型、浙江的内生资本稀缺型工业化模式,分别产生了保护股民利益的土地共有制,强调政府统筹能力的土地集体所有制与有利内生资本积累的"公有私占"的土地制度类型,三者都在一定程度上推动了区域性工业生产要素的优化配置。这表明,评价土地制度的绩效,必须着重考虑具体的工业化模式。当前,中国正处于全球资本竞争与产业升级的重要时期,仍然需要发挥土地集体所有制统筹土地开发权的优势,为建立服务于工业发展的高水平公共服务体系提供保障,同时,也应当加强土地的再分配功能,保护农民共享经济发展成果的权利,提高土地集体所有制的制度合法性。     

The status quo bias and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy: impact of voting rules, the European Commission and external changes

We develop a formal model of EU decision-making on the CommonAgricultural Policy (CAP). The model is used to evaluate underwhat conditions CAP reform occurs and what the influence ofthe European Commission (Commission) is on CAP reform. We findthat the voting and amendment rules in the Council of the EuropeanUnion, the number of policy instruments and external changeshave important impacts on the occurrence and extent of CAP reformand on the influence of the Commission. Stricter voting rulesincrease the status quo bias and reduce Commission influence,whereas stricter amendment rules increase both the status quobias and Commission influence. More significant external changeresults in more reform and more Commission influence.     

Potential impact of the EU 2003 CAP reform on land idling decisions of French landowners: Results from a survey of intentions

The 2003 reform of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) introduced Single Farm Payments (SFPs) which are decoupled payments conditional on cross-compliance, and allows these payments to be claimed for land kept fully idle but maintained in good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC). This paper focuses on the potential impact of the reform on land idling decisions in France with the help of a survey of the intentions of landowners. Both operator and non-operator landowners were considered since, although SFP entitlements are owned only by operator landowners in France, non-operator landowners may now have a higher incentive to switch to operating land by idling land and maintaining it under GAEC in order to claim SFPs. The key variables in landowners’ decisions to idle land in GAEC appear to be both monetary and non-monetary. Despite the likely difference in conversion and cross-compliance costs, operators and non-operators were shown to be equally uninterested in GAEC, suggesting that no dramatic changes in terms of idling land should occur in France as a result of the 2003 reform.     

基于B／S的土地交易管理信息系统开发与研究

本文提出了建立基于B／S模式的土地交易管理系统的优势，阐述了系统的设计和实现方法；较为详细的介绍了系统的构架、功能结构、数据库建设以及系统特点。     

A case study of land reform and coastal land transformation in southern Sonora, Mexico

This paper examines the coastal ejido (collectives of peasant landholders) sector's response to the 1992 amendment to Article 27 of Mexico's Constitution, which for the first time legalized the sale and rental of ejido lands. Our analysis is based on a case study of southern Sonora, Mexico. The results indicate a shift in land tenure from the ejido to the private sector and a corresponding conversion of coastal lands to shrimp aquaculture ponds. Our analysis suggests these land-tenure and land-use changes, and the implications of these changes for the coastal ejido sector, vary depending on the historical, geographic and socio-economic characteristics of the ejido communities.     

The institutional drivers of sustainable landscapes: a case study of the ‘Mayan Zone’ in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Research on the dynamics of tropical forest land use and cover change (LUCC) has focused on the three scenarios: (1) deforestation/degradation; (2) settled, degraded areas in recovery, and (3) sparsely settled, expansive, intact forest. Through examination of a central Quintana Roo, Mexico case study we propose a fourth scenario of a ‘sustainable landscape’: an inhabited, productively used, forested landscape that nonetheless shows little change or net gains in forest cover over the last 25 years. We use Landsat images to demonstrate a low incidence of net deforestation, 0.01% for the 1984–2000 period, the lowest recorded deforestation rate for southeastern Mexico. Institutional innovations such as an agrarian reform process that established large common property forests for non-timber forest product extraction, and later innovations such as sustainable forest management institutions have driven the outcome of low net deforestation, added to multiple organizational processes that promote sustainable land use.     

More Than Socially Embedded: The Distinctive Character of 'Communal Tenure' Regimes in South Africa and its Implications for Land Policy

This article analyzes debates over tenure reform policy in post-apartheid South Africa, with a particular focus on the controversial Communal Land Rights Act of 2004. Land tenure systems in the 'communal areas' of South Africa are described as dynamic and evolving regimes within which a number of important commonalities and continuities over time are observable. Key underlying principles of pre-colonial land relations are identified, which informed the adaptation and modification of tenure regimes in the colonial era and under policies of segregation and apartheid, and continue to do so today. Exploring the policy implications of this analysis, the article suggests that alternative approaches to that embodied in the Communal Land Rights Act are required. The most appropriate approach is to make socially legitimate occupation and use rights, as they are currently held and practised, the point of departure for both their recognition in law and for the design of institutional frameworks for administering land.     

Land tenure, population pressure, and deforestation in Haiti: The case of Forêt des Pins Reserve

Haiti, with a forest cover estimated at 3% of all land area, has experienced severe degradation of its natural resources and a significant change in its land cover. While deforestation in Haiti is obviously multifaceted, one issue emerges from previous empirical analysis in explaining deforestation: land tenure. This study focuses on the causes of deforestation in Haiti, particularly in Forêt des Pins Reserve, using the annual average area of cleared forest per household as the dependent variable. Data were collected with the use of a survey instrument administered to 243 farm households in 15 villages inside the Reserve. Tobit Regression results reveal that household size, education of head of the household, land tenure regime, and farm labor are important factors affecting land clearing.     

Land speculation and interest rate subsidies as a cause of deforestation: The role of cattle ranching in Costa Rica

Land speculation by cattle ranchers is considered a principal cause of deforestation in Latin America, in particular in combination with (previously) widely provided interest rate subsidies. Proof for the hypothesis that land speculation leads to inflated rates of investment in land is, however, relatively limited and invariably related to the question of whether land prices tend to rise over time. Based on the Neoclassical investment theory with adjustment costs we develop a stochastic cattle ranching model in which land prices are modelled as geometric Brownian motion, to evaluate the effect of expected fluctuations in land prices on land investment decisions by cattle ranchers in Latin America. For a case study in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica, results show that the expected rate of investment is almost 35% underestimated in case land prices are assumed constant instead of fluctuating according to the standard deviation, while abolition of interest rate subsidies leads to an almost 15% decrease in the expected rate of investment. Consequently, it is shown that variability in land prices alone is a sufficient condition for land speculation, inflated rates of investment in land, larger farm sizes and, thus, higher rates of deforestation in agrarian frontier areas, while this process is further promoted by subsidized livestock credit or any other form of agricultural subsidy that increases the marginal production value of land.     

Planning for social inclusion: The impact of socioeconomic inequities on the informal development of farmland in suburban Beijing

Informal development on farmland is not only a major problem facing thousands of people, but also a major challenge to land use planning. In the rapidly growing literature on informal land development in China, most authors claim that ambiguous property rights and the dual land tenure system are the primary factors involved. As a result, existing state-led land use planning responses to informal development are solely focused on strengthening the legal regulation of land development. This paper challenges this approach, on the basis of the theory of urban informality. By examining many illegal gated communities in suburban Beijing, the paper argues that the informal development of farmland on the urban fringe is the result of local grassroots groups spontaneously responding to socioeconomic inequities in the context of transition to a market economy. These inequities mainly concern distributive inequity, procedural inequity and contextual inequity in relation to land use. It appears that the ongoing market-oriented initiatives of the state government could worsen informal land development unless these socioeconomic inequalities at the local level are tackled. The growing civil society is another change to the state's control of informal land development in China's cities. A new land use planning system which has more concern for social inclusion rather than focusing on centralized control is imperative in China.     

Land consolidation in inland rural Galicia, N.W. Spain, since 1950: An example of the formulation and use of questions, criteria and indicators for evaluation of rural development policies

This paper examines whether the land consolidation (LC) practised since the 1950s in Galicia, N.W. Spain, has had the desired effects. To achieve this aim, we have adopted the methodology drawn up by the European Union for evaluation of its socioeconomic programmes, and we have adapted it as required by the subject matter and by the long-term historical perspective of this study. Our results suggest that, during the study period, LC has in general made a positive contribution to slowing rural depopulation.     

城乡建设用地增减挂钩中农民利益保障对策研究——基于江西省《“增减挂钩”试点农民利益保障》专题调研

研究目的:为城乡建设用地增减挂钩中的农民利益保障提供对策建议,以利于"增减挂钩"工作的健康推进。研究方法:实证分析。研究结果:目前"增减挂钩"中,拆迁补偿标准是农民关注的焦点、集中安置是大多数农民的安置意愿、方便耕作是安置选址的关注点、生活成本的提高是农民集中安置到城镇最担心的问题;"增减挂钩"中影响农民利益的主要障碍因素包括:工作理念的偏差、农民利益保障的理论基础薄弱、公众参与机制不健全、农民利益保障监督机制缺失、忽视区域差异而盲目推进。研究结论:从以下几个方面来确保"增减挂钩"中的农民利益:(1)正确树立保障农民利益,促进城乡统筹的工作理念;(2)建立科学的公众参与机制,充分尊重农民意愿;(3)实施区域差异化城乡增减挂钩政策,因地制宜,稳步推进;(4)建立严格的农民利益保障监督机制;(5)积极探索农村宅基地退出机制。     

Assessing impact of land uses on land salinization in the Yellow River Delta,China using an integrated and spatial statistical model

Intensification of agriculture and industry in salinized areas poses a risk of secondary salinization. Thus, comprehensive and spatially explicit assessments are needed to assist government in developing ecologically sound policies. Few assessments have comprehensively quantified the impacts of multiple anthropogenic activities on salinization as environmental interferences and salinity autocorrelation are largely neglected. This study tried to perform such an assessment by identifying the nature of human impacts on salinization from three aspects in the Yellow River Delta (YRD) of China. A versatile GIS-based spatial autoregression (SAR) was applied to nine selected explainable variables in six sub-region models. Sub-region model was verified as an effective tool of normalizing environmental interferences because more useful spatial information was provided compared to the whole region model. GIS-SAR model fit better and performed better in quantifying human activities, compared to the conventional ordinary least square regression (OLSR) model, as SAR can deal with spatial autocorrelation in soil salinity. Among the well-defined key determinants, oil exploitation and saline aquaculture were aggregative to salinization but only in originally highly saline sub-regions, such as coastal zone and Gleyic Solonchaks (coastal saline moisture soil) area. Two agricultural activities, crop plantation and fertilization, were mainly ameliorators in most sub-regions. The most effective salinization alleviation occurred in moderately saline sub-regions, such as floodplain and Salic Fluvisols (saline moisture soil) area, which benefitted from the development of agroforests and farm ponds. The SAR sub-region model is spatially explicit for spotting the hazardous areas and some suggestions were also provided for the policy makers.     

Reflexive Interdisciplinary Research: The Making of a Research Programme on the Rural Economy and Land Use

This paper provides an account of the origins and formation of the UK Research Councils’ Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme and its approach to promoting interdisciplinary working between social and natural scientists. The programme is set in the context of broader developments in science policy, including a policy discourse centred upon sustainable development and the knowledge economy and associated demands for greater accountability in science. Interdisciplinarity promises research that will be more relevant and responsive to public needs and concerns. In describing the provenance of the RELU programme, therefore, the paper seeks to lay out the different stages in its initiation and design to show how, to varying degrees, these were open to external scrutiny and influence. The process of developing the programme illustrates that it is not straightforward to make research agendas and funding more transparent and accountable. It also provides insights into the challenges that interdisciplinarity and accountability present to established science institutions.     

The identification and assessment of ecological risks for land consolidation based on the anticipation of ecosystem stabilization: A case study in Hubei Province,China

The purpose of this study is to identify and classify the ecological risks in land consolidation, and to develop a framework of the theory and method to assess the change of ecological risk degree before and after land consolidation. Environmental impacts and ecological risks of land consolidation have recently drawn much attention, and there are two opposing viewpoints to assess these impacts and risks in the academia of China. Both viewpoints result from the bias of assessment anticipation. Land consolidation includes four main engineering aspects in China, and ecological succession from start of land consolidation to ecosystem stabilization should pass three phases. Different ecological impacts and risks of land consolidation rise from different phases of ecological successions. According to the climax theory of ecology, we developed a framework of the ecological risk assessment based on the anticipation of ecosystem stabilization (ERABAES) for land consolidation. We applied analytical hierarchical processing (AHP) method to the data resources from the land consolidation project in Southern China to allocate weightings to the indices of ecological risk (ER), and to set up an integrated index system for the ecological risk identification. This integrated index system encompasses the ecological risks with three factors (water, soil and biology) and 14 indices. The results of the project show: (1) The ER is reduced from 58.02 to 28.8 after land consolidation and the degree of ecological risk is down from Degree III to Degree IV. (2) According to the element analysis, the water ER is reduced from 21.53 to 6.16, its contribution to reduce the ecological risk is 53%; the reduced ERs of soil and biology are respectively 12.79 and 1.06, their contribution of ecological risk reduce is lower than water.     

The impact of forest management plans on trees and carbon: Modeling a decade of harvesting data in Cameroon

By 2010, about 25% (180 million ha) of The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) producer countries’ permanent forest estate was being managed using an approved forest management plan (FMP). While the existence of a FMP is often used as evidence of sustainable forest management (SFM), State officials mandated to monitor and verify FMPs’ implementation often lack the technical knowledge and political incentives to assess the changes that have been introduced, notably in terms of harvested volumes and species. Among tropical timber producers, Cameroon is considered to be exemplary for its progressive forest regulatory framework. Here we aim to estimate for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa the causal impact of the implementation of FMPs on harvested volumes, species and carbon stocks. We do so by using a 12-year (1998–2009) unbalanced longitudinal data set of a detailed, official harvesting inventory of 81 concessions in Cameroon. Results provide evidence to the theoretical expectations that for many years many practitioners have had on the implementation of SFM, i.e. that FMPs show a substantial opportunity to reduce carbon emissions from forest while presenting logging companies with acceptable financial trade-offs. We explore the technical and political reasons for our findings and conclude that these analyses are important for countries that are underwriting carbon-related schemes in which they propose to reduce their emissions through the effective implementation of SFM. We also demonstrate that producer countries do record useful information that, when effectively used, can help them to inform their policies and improve their sustainable development strategies.