Economists such as Hernando De Soto have argued that clearly defined property rights are essential to capital formation and ultimately to economic growth and poverty alleviation. This article traces two impediments to the clear definition of property rights in the African context: customary law and...
The authors argue that the process leading to the Rural Code has produced some important positive results which have contributed to easing conflicted relations between rural producers and strengthening land tenure security, notably amongst the weakest inhabitants. Some challenges to the...
In this article Lev argues that in the absence of legislative reform, Indonesian customary law (adat) has been susceptible to the changing ideals and imagination of the country’s elite and that for this to happen certain changes have been necessary in the conception Indonesian judges have of their...
Migrants are important to development and poverty reduction in their home countries. For many countries the levels of remittances from relatives abroad exceed...
Does women's lack of property rights increases household poverty and their vulnerability to HIV infection? Would securing these rights mitigate the impoverishing impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic? This paper seeks to answer these questions and
This article looks at land tenure systems as well as changes in traditional marriage institutions and social security in Senegal and Burkina Faso and argues that it is crucial that women’s social security and bargaining power within the traditional institutions be preserved while introducing new...
Over 20 percent of the world’s population is influenced to varying degrees by Islamic principles, which intersect customary, informal and statutory land laws. Despite their relevance, global land reviews and interventions rarely consider the application of Islamic land principles.
The six position papers are part of eight position papers produced as part of a series on Islam, land and property, accompanied by a database, with proposed strategies which could enhance the knowledge and augment the capacity of UN-HABITAT and its partners to work more effectively in Muslim...
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Sudan Property Rights Programme (SPRP) is working with Southern Sudan Land Commission (SSLC) to develop a land policy for the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). The policy will be based upon an extensive programme of public...
