Is Land Titling in Sub-Saharan Africa Cost-Effective? Evidence from Madagascar

Formalizing land rights has been promoted as a way to encourageagricultural investment and stimulate land markets, yet littleis known about the benefits of such policies in Sub-SaharanAfrica, where the preconditions for success are less favorable.The analysis uses a large sample of plots from an intensivelytitled rice-growing area of Madagascar and compares land-specificinvestments, land productivity, and land values for titled anduntitled plots cultivated by the same household. Having a titlehas no significant effect on plot-specific investment and correspondinglylittle effect on land productivity and land values. These resultsare broadly consistent with a simulation of a theoretical modelof investment under expropriation risk calibrated to the samedata. A cost–benefit analysis suggests that the currentsystem of formal titling should not be extended in rural Madagascarand that any new system of land registration would have to bequite inexpensive to be worthwhile.     

The Evolution of the World Bank's Land Policy: Principles, Experience, and Future Challenges

This article examines the evolution of policy recommendationsconcerning rural land issues since the formulation of the WorldBank's "Land Reform Policy Paper" in 1975. That paper set outthree guiding principles: the desirability of owner-operatedfamily farms; the need for markets to permit land to be transferredto more productive users; and the importance of an egalitarianasset distribution. In the 25 years since that paper was published,these guiding principles have remained the same, but it is nowrecognized that communal tenure systems can be more cost-effectivethan formal title, that titling programs should be judged ontheir equity as well as their efficiency, that the potentialof land rental markets has often been severely underestimated,that land-sale markets enhance efficiency only if they are integratedinto a broader effort at developing rural factor markets, andthat land reform is more likely to result in a reduction ofpoverty if it harnesses (rather than undermines) the operationof land markets and is implemented in a decentralized fashion.Achieving land policies that incorporate these elements requiresa coherent legal and institutional framework together with greaterreliance on pilot programs to examine the applicability of interventionsunder local conditions.      

Corporate bond pricing and ownership heterogeneity

We examine how heterogeneity in institutional equity ownership affects bondholders. Firms with larger short-term (long-term) institutional ownership are associated with higher (lower) future bond yield spreads. The adverse effect of short-term ownership on bond pricing is driven by issuing firms that have larger financial distress risk and larger equity volatility. The favorable effect of long-term ownership appears to be more systematic. Further, this bond pricing effect is stronger in cases where shareholder rights are relatively weak. Finally, the effect of short (long) horizons is driven by concentrated (diffused) institutional holdings.     

Population,agriculture, and the environment in Africa

An overview is provided of the World Bank study about the interaction between rapid population growth, poor agricultural performance, and environmental degradation. The links between these 3 phenomena are identified as traditional methods of crop and livestock production, land tenure systems, women's responsibilities, and methods of forest use. When land was abundant and capital limited, pastoralism, shifting cultivation, and setting aside fallow land was possible. Mobility and allowances for natural regeneration of vegetation could not continue with rapid population growth. Permanent settlements developed but cultivation methods remained the same; the result was deterioration of soil fertility, low yields, and erosion of soil as occurred in Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and parts of Nigeria. Technological innovation has been slow and poor roads have interfered with a market oriented economy. Inappropriate pricing, exchange rates, and fiscal policies also prevent productivity gains. A heavy demand is placed on women's time. Demand for children is high and is stimulated by environmental degradation, food insecurity, land tenure systems, and cultural traditions. Child labor is needed. The demand for contraception is 30-50% in North Africa, 36-55% in Asia, and 40-60% in South America. Land ownership problems have arisen under community ownership and between herders and settlers. Solutions have ranged from land nationalization and arbitrary designation of individual ownership. Open access situations have developed and lent themselves to exploitation. Fuelwood needs have exacerbated the destruction of forests. Commercial logging accounted for 10-20% of the forest loss. New approaches are needed to link cross-sectionally population, the environment, an agriculture. Emphasis should be on resource conservation, family planning, and environmentally benign intensive farming. Agricultural production needs to grow at 4%/year, fertility lowered by 50% over 30 years, and deforestation slowed. Women's time constraints should b alleviated and productivity improved. Open access and state ownership should be stopped.     

THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AGROFORESTRY TO FARMERS

Deforestation, growing scarcity of tree products, and environmentaldegradation have created serious problems for rural land usein many developing countries. Agroforestry, a system in whichwoody perennials are grown on the same land as agriculturalcrops or livestock, has been increasingly enlisted in the campaignto meet these threats to the rural economy. Case studies of twenty-one agroforestry projects in six CentralAmerican and two Caribbean countries formed the empricial basisfor the study described in this article. A focal point of analysiswas the profitability of agroforestry for farmers as a crucialincentive to adoption. The findings indicate that many agroforestry practices are profitableunder a broad range of conditions and are therefore likely tobe widely applicable. Successful projects have worked with localcommunities, responding to local needs and preferences and offeringfarmers a broad basket of species and systems from which tochoose. Demonstration plots and the use of paratechnicians havebeen low-cost and effective means of technology transfer, andapplied research has been important in identifying techniquesand practices suited to the region. Other findings have identifiedgovernment regulation of tree harvesting and insecurity of tenure—thoughnot lack of title in itself—as disincentives to adoption.      

CASH FLOW OR INCOME?: The Choice of Base for Company Taxation

Cash flow and equity income (or income) are two alternativebases advocated for taxes on businesses throughout the world.Although in practice most tax systems are hybrids with elementsof both types of taxes, recent literature has stressed the meritsof the cash flow tax because it is simple in concept and itdoes not distort decisions about capital expenditures and financing.But international issues and administrative complexities—particularlytax evasion—present problems that must be sorted out beforea cash flow tax can be implemented.      

Trust in Financial Markets

This paper examines contemporaneous and historical evidence on the structure of ownership and control of corporate sectors in developed countries to draw lessons for development of financial markets. It records the critical role that equity markets played in the ownership and financing of corporations at the beginning of the 20th century. It notes that this occurred in the absence of formal systems of regulation and that equity markets functioned on the basis of informal relationships of trust. These were sustained through local stock markets in the UK, banks in Germany, and business coordinators and family firms in Japan. The paper explores the concept of trust that is required to promote the development of financial markets.     

第一大股东持股的区间效应——基于上市公司的实证分析

实证结果表明,第一大股东对公司绩效同时存在激励效应和壁垒效应,第一大股东持股比例与公司绩效呈显著的N型相关关系,即在第一大股东持股占据绝对控股地位(40%)之前,第一大股东的持股具有积极的治理功能;超过了这个区间,大股东的持股对公司绩效则具有消极作用;而随着第一大股东持股的进一步上升(65%以上),控股股东吸取个人利益的动力又会弱化,大股东股权的增加又会导致公司绩效的增加。此外,第一大股东性质对权益激励的影响也因第一大股东持股区间的不同而异,仅在20%~40%这个区间范围内,国家股与公司绩效呈现负相关关系且结果并不显著,而在其他的区间范围,国家股的持有与公司成长性呈现显著的正相关。     

REFORMING PROPERTY RIGHTS IN LAND AND TENANCY

This article examines the nature and distribution of propertyrights in land and how they are changing under economic anddemographic pressures. It also analyzes the practical chancesof success of several alternative forms of policy interventionto redistribute property rights and regulate tenancy. This analysisbegins with the political economy of land reform in the twentiethcentury. It draws a distinction between reforms precipitatedby social upheaval (defeat in war, social revolution, or nationalliberation) and those that occur in "normal" times, when thesocial and political order is more secure. It is argued thatthe former have been much more important and, drawing on examples,that the latter face formidable obstacles. In this connection,it is proposed that a tax reform which does away with the highlyselective subsidies and exemptions that benefit the rich andinflate the price of land should be undertaken first. Then,when land prices have fallen, compulsory purchase of land forredistribution, at close to fair market value to ensure itspolitical acceptability, would not entail an intolerable fiscalburden. Where tenancy is concerned, it is argued that this institutionis commonly a socially useful market response, which providesopportunities for the fuller employment of family resourcesand, over the long run, for individual mobility. Thus interventionsdesigned to inhibit tenancy directly or to transfer ownership-likerights to existing tenants may result in heavy costs, especiallyfor future cohorts of would-be tenants.      

Seasoned Equity Issues in a Closely Held Market: Evidence from France

This paper examines seasoned equity offerings in France.Even though a rights offering is the primary flotation method, French companies are increasingly usingthe relatively expensive public offering method. We show that the market reaction to the announcementof seasoned equity issues is significantly negative for rights issues and insignificantly negative forpublic offerings. Our results suggest that the adverse selection effect is greater for rights issues thanfor public offerings, due to stronger underwriter certification for the public offerings. We find that theshare price effect is positively related to blockholders take-up renouncements for firms with priorconcentrated ownership. For these firms, the favourable ownership dispersion effect offsets the adverse selection effect.     

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Developing Countries: Does Adaptation Matter?

Because most developing countries depend heavily on agriculture,the effects of global warming on productive croplands are likelyto threaten both the welfare of the population and the economicdevelopment of the countries. Tropical regions in the developingworld are particularly vulnerable to potential damage from environmentalchanges because the poor soils that cover large areas of theseregions already have made much of the land unusable for agriculture. Although agronomic simulation models predict that higher temperatureswill reduce grain yields as the cool wheat-growing areas getwarmer, they have not examined the possibility that farmerswill adapt by making production decisions that are in theirown best interests. A recent set of models examines cross-sectionalevidence from India and Brazil and finds that even though theagricultural sector is sensitive to climate, individual farmersdo take local climates into account, and their ability to doso will help mitigate the impacts of global warming.      

投票权重向创业团队的倾斜配置及股权结构设计

股权结构设计和控制权安排是协调股东与经理人代理冲突的基础性公司治理制度安排。"同股不同权"构架的核心是通过投票权重配置向创业团队倾斜,实现创业团队与外部投资者之间从短期雇佣合约到长期合伙合约的转化。上述构架由于顺应了以互联网技术为标志的第四次工业革命对创新导向的企业权威重新配置的内在要求,而受到诸多高科技企业青睐。"一股一票"并非对投资者利益最好的保护,"同股不同权"也并非对投资者利益最不好的保护,投资者自愿购买"同股不同权"构架股票,并未从根本上动摇股东处于公司治理权威地位的"股东中心主义"。与现实需求相契合,"同股不同权"的股权结构设计中,应遵循资金投入要求、日落条款设置及股东权威性不变等设计理念。     

Explaining equity shares in international joint ventures: Combining the influence of asset characteristics,culture and institutional differences

This paper investigates the determinants of the observed contracted equity share ownership structure in international joint ventures (IJVs). We propose that the inherent intangibility of the assets that partner's contribute to the IJV, and both formal (legal) and informal (cultural) institutional differences between partners contribute to explaining the negotiated division of the IJV's equity share. Empirical results from 442 UK-based home-foreign IJVs, indicate that an IJV partner's equity share ownership is positively correlated with the intangibility of the assets they contribute to the IJV relative to those of the second partner. Both cultural and formal institutional differences exert a moderating influence on the observed asset intangibility-equity share relationship for the foreign IJV partner. We attribute this finding to both risk perceptions and the liability of foreignness.     

Land Tenure and Property Rights: Theory and Implications for Development Policy

This article explores the nature of property rights systems,their evolution, and their effect on resource allocation. Itis argued that certain institutional arrangements for land rightshave evolved in order to reduce uncertainty and increase efficiencyin credit as well as in land markets. Of particular relevanceto developing countries, the article emphasizes the contributionof public sector infrastructure to effective land rights systems.An appendix to the article presents a formal model analyzingthe effects of security of land rights on land prices, the intensityof cultivation, and the use of credit. Empirical evidence fromThailand supports several of the propositions derived from themodel.     

EMERGING EQUITY MARKETS: GROWTH, BENEFITS, AND POLICY CONCERNS

Since the mid-1980s, stock market activity has increased substantiallyin many developing countries. This article first examines themain characteristics of emerging stock markets and illustratesthe evolution of equity prices in these markets during the lastdecade. It then discusses the reasons for the markets' growthand assesses the extent to which they have been affected bydomestic policies and external factors. The authors discussthe likely benefits of these markets, the effects any abruptcorrection in stock prices could have for the economy, and theways in which these markets can be made more efficient.      

Optimal capital structures for private firms

This article shows how to construct an optimal capital structure for a private firm. Since the agents who supply the firm’s capital are risk averse, they diversify by holding both debt and equity. This can mitigate, or even eliminate, the classical risk shifting problem. There is a wealth effect since the optimal capital structure, which can involve multiple types of debt, depends on the amount of wealth that each agent contributes to the firm. However, it is shown that the agents’ equity holdings do not depend on the contributed amounts of wealth. Thus the model can produce a wedge between ownership rights and equity cashflow rights. These features are illustrated in a firm with three agents.     

Determinants of Intercorporate Shareholdings

This paper examines why firms choose to spend resources on acquiring ownership rights in other firms. Based on a unique data base of every individual intercorporate shareholding on the Oslo Stock Exchange during the period 1980–1994, we find that such investments serve at least three functions. First, they play a role incorporate governance, as managers in firms withlow insider holdings, diffuse ownership structure and high free cash flow tend to mutually acquire equity stakes in each other, possibly in a collective attempt to protect their human capital in the market for corporate control. Second, interfirm equity holdings serve as financial slack for growing firms, reducing potential adverse selection costs by providing an internal funding source for new investments in long-term assets. Finally, our findings also suggest that intercorporate shareholdings are an integrated part of the investor's cash flow management system by being a liquidity buffer when cash inflows andcash outflows are non-synchronous.     

New Models for Old-Age Security: Experiments, Evidence, and Unanswered Questions

The escalating costs of traditional social security systemsare forcing countries to reevaluate the formal programs thatprovide income maintenance support to the aging. This articlesuggests a reform strategy built around three systems, or "pillars,"to provide old-age security—a public pillar with mandatoa private, mandatory savings plan, and a voluntary savings system.Three variations of this model are being implemented in differentcountries: the Latin American model, in which individual workerschoose an investment manager for their retirement finds; theOECD model, in which employers, union trustees, or both choosethe investment manager for an entire company or occupation;and the Swedish notional account model, a reformed pay-as-you-gofirst pillar that may be supplemented by a second, funded pillar.Preliminary empirical evidence on the efficiency and growtheffects of pension reform, mostly from Chile, indicates thatthe impact on national saving and financial market developmentand, through these, economic growth, has been positive and possiblylarge. Problems concerning high administrative costs and regulationsthat distort investment decisions remain to be resolved, however.      

Seasoned Equity Issues in a Closely Held Market: Evidence from France

This paper examines seasoned equity offerings in France. Eventhough a rights offering is the primary flotation method, Frenchcompanies are increasingly using the relatively expensive publicoffering method. We show that the market reaction to the announcementof seasoned equity issues is significantly negative for rightsissues and insignificantly negative for public offerings. Ourresults suggest that the adverse selection effect is greaterfor rights issues than for public offerings, due to strongerunderwriter certification for the public offerings. We findthat the share price effect is positively related to blockholderstake-up renouncements for firms with prior concentrated ownership.For these firms, the favourable ownership dispersion effectoffsets the adverse selection effect. JEL Classification: G32,G14 and D80.     

Deforestation and Forest Land Use: A Comment

Hyde, Amacher, and Magrath (1996) imply that deforestation andtimber rents (logging revenue minus logging costs other thantimber fees) are not subjects that justify policymakers' attention,arguing that market responses limit the scope of deforestationand that rents are usually small. But they fail to recognizethat land markets will not develop efficiently, nor will efficientlevels of forestry investments occur, when policy distortionsand other factors obstruct the conversion of open-access foreststo private or communal ownership. For these reasons rates ofdeforestation can be far above optimal levels. Contrary to theauthors' claims, timber rents often (although not always) arelarge in developing countries. Moreover, the allocation of rentsbetween loggers and the government owners of public forestscan indeed affect the profitability of forestry (and thus deforestation),the intensity of timber harvesting, and national welfare.