Land Rental Markets in Malawi

Found at: https://hdl.handle.net/10535/1999
PDF
Type:	Conference Paper
Author:	Smette, M. E.
Conference:	Governing Shared Resources: Connecting Local Experience to Global Challenges, the Twelfth Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons
Location:	Cheltenham, England
Conf. Date:	July 14-18, 2008
Date:	2008
URI:	https://hdl.handle.net/10535/1999
Sector:	Agriculture
Region:	Africa
Subject(s):	land tenure and use rent seeking IASC
Abstract:	"Land rental markets involve temporary transfers of use rights to land. The traditional authorities (TAs), in the two areas I have investigated in Malawi, have set a rule saying that no one is allowed to rent out land. Still, the two TAs said, if renting takes place, no one should rent out their land to the same person for more than two years. If a conflict occurs between the person renting in and the person renting out, concerning whom the right owner of the land is, the person renting in is likely to win the dispute. By renting out land, the owner gives out signals saying that he does not need the land. "As a result of this, there is high insecurity for those renting out land and it leads to limitations in the rental market. "Still, people continue to rent out land, but it is often held in secret. Who are renting in and renting out land? How are people adapting to this two year limit of renting? Will this have consequences for the investments people do on the land they rent? How does land scarcity affect the rental market?"

Files in this item

Files	Size	Format	View
_Smette_1115.pdf	175.2Kb	PDF	View/Open