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Land tenure formalisation and perceived tenure security: : Two decades of the land administration project in Ghana

Alhola, Sara and Gwaindepi, Abel LU (2024) In Land Use Policy 143. p.1-17
Abstract
Ghana’s Land Administration Project (LAP), initiated in 2003, aimed to enhance certainty regarding land rights. What has been achieved since then? We explore landowners’ perceptions of tenure security in Ghana using micro-level data from two waves of the Ghanaian Living Standards Surveys: GLSS5+ (2008) and GLSS7 (2017). This data allows us to study the linkages between land title formality and perceptions of tenure security, measured by landowners' perceived ability to sell or use their land as collateral. This is complemented by analysing government policy documents and appraisal reports from independent organisations, making our study a valuable contribution to ongoing research on the formalisation-security link in Ghana and other... (More)
Ghana’s Land Administration Project (LAP), initiated in 2003, aimed to enhance certainty regarding land rights. What has been achieved since then? We explore landowners’ perceptions of tenure security in Ghana using micro-level data from two waves of the Ghanaian Living Standards Surveys: GLSS5+ (2008) and GLSS7 (2017). This data allows us to study the linkages between land title formality and perceptions of tenure security, measured by landowners' perceived ability to sell or use their land as collateral. This is complemented by analysing government policy documents and appraisal reports from independent organisations, making our study a valuable contribution to ongoing research on the formalisation-security link in Ghana and other African countries. The results indicate that those with formal titles are more likely to perceive their land ownership secure. However, in some regions customary systems persist in parallel with perceived security. These regional nuances highlight the complex factors influencing perception of tenure security. For policy, these findings emphasise the need to consider contextual peculiarities and expertise when assessing the compatibility of customary traditions with formal titles and finding solutions for potential coexistence.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
O120, O170, O430, Q150, Property Rights, Land Reform, Formalisation, Tenure Security, LAP, Ghana
in
Land Use Policy
volume
143
pages
17 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85193435958
ISSN
0264-8377
DOI
10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107195
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
86aeb79a-4aba-4486-9bf5-0210e547a575
date added to LUP
2024-05-22 12:29:29
date last changed
2024-05-31 10:36:40
@article{86aeb79a-4aba-4486-9bf5-0210e547a575,
  abstract     = {{Ghana’s Land Administration Project (LAP), initiated in 2003, aimed to enhance certainty regarding land rights. What has been achieved since then? We explore landowners’ perceptions of tenure security in Ghana using micro-level data from two waves of the Ghanaian Living Standards Surveys: GLSS5+ (2008) and GLSS7 (2017). This data allows us to study the linkages between land title formality and perceptions of tenure security, measured by landowners' perceived ability to sell or use their land as collateral. This is complemented by analysing government policy documents and appraisal reports from independent organisations, making our study a valuable contribution to ongoing research on the formalisation-security link in Ghana and other African countries. The results indicate that those with formal titles are more likely to perceive their land ownership secure. However, in some regions customary systems persist in parallel with perceived security. These regional nuances highlight the complex factors influencing perception of tenure security. For policy, these findings emphasise the need to consider contextual peculiarities and expertise when assessing the compatibility of customary traditions with formal titles and finding solutions for potential coexistence.<br/><br/>}},
  author       = {{Alhola, Sara and Gwaindepi, Abel}},
  issn         = {{0264-8377}},
  keywords     = {{O120; O170; O430; Q150; Property Rights; Land Reform; Formalisation; Tenure Security; LAP; Ghana}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  pages        = {{1--17}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Land Use Policy}},
  title        = {{Land tenure formalisation and perceived tenure security: : Two decades of the land administration project in Ghana}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107195}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107195}},
  volume       = {{143}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}