Property Rights in Land: Theory and Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

Abstract

The land question in Ethiopia has largely been characterized by the lack of theoretical discourse since the emergence of the motto of "Land to the Tiller" in the 1960s. Researchers and development practitioners have been exposed to limited theoretical fram ework as a result of which they are incapacitated 10 explain existing empirical findings and practices. Therefore, policy makers have, 01 their disposal, lim ited information regarding options available to address the land questions. Using the institutional approach to problem-solving, this paper attempted to address these issues first by undertaking a survey of the tbeoretical literature on property rights. Secondly, it explained past and present tenurial arrangements in Ethiopia in the light a/the th eore/iea/framework reviewed here. The paper has questioned the validity of some of the com ilion beliefs that have permeated the issues of property rights cmd resource management in developing countries. Altematively, it suggested that: I) the notion of "the tragedy of the comlllons" be replaced rather by "the tragedy of open access to resource management"; 2) in reality there are diverse forms of land ownership and management of resow:ces; 3) agricultural production efficiency variations can be explained in terms of variations · in the type of property-right regimes in addition to the conventional variables like technology and the quality of productive resources; and 4) tlze state should not limit itse!fto the task of "getting the prices right", but it should also define and enforce appropriate property rights regimes