This report is a synthesis of information gleaned from four case studies of World Bank-financed land programs in Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ghana, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The case studies were designed to both broaden and deepen our understanding of how land policies affect women and men, with an aim to applying this knowledge in very practical ways to World Ban-supported land projects.

China has undergone a profound economic and social transformation as it moves from a centrally-planned to a market-oriented economy. Land issues are implicated in this ongoing transformation in numerous important ways - as key factors in China's quest for economic growth, national food security and social stability; as important influences in the rapid growth of China's cities as well as the future of its agriculture; and as central features in local government finance and in the growth and stability of the financial and banking sector.

Mixed evidence on the impact of formal title in much of Africa is often used to question the relevance of dealing with land policy issues in this continent. The authors use data from Uganda to assess the impact of a disaggregated set of rights on investment, productivity, and land values, and to test the hypothesis that individuals' lack of knowledge of the new law reduces their tenure security. Results point toward strong and positive effects of greater tenure security and transferability.

Le présent décret fixe l'organisation des conservations de la propriété foncière et des hypothèques. Les services techniques comprennent : le service d'immatriculation ; le service de la publicité foncière ; le service de l’informatique, des archives et de la recherche, le service de la législation et du contentieux, et le service administratif, financier et comptable.Cette Ordonnance qui s’applique aux immeubles bâtis et non bâtis soumis au régime de l’immatriculation foncière, fixe le régime de la propriété foncière en en République gabonaise.

To implement the vision of fostering
economic development, social equity, and a transparent and
effective government, the Government of Liberia has outlined
key transitions that need to be accomplished. These include
the development of infrastructure (roads, electricity),
schools, job creation and transition from war, civil
conflict and social polarization to a well functioning
society in which economic opportunities are fostered and

The scope and urgency of the threats to
Nigeria's rural land are no secret. In 2005, a working
group dedicated to formulating a national agricultural land
policy began the process with a comprehensive articulation
of the challenges facing Nigeria's agricultural land.
The litany included recognition that: 1) agricultural land
use in the country has been unsustainable, resulting in no
fewer than eleven types of extensive land degradation and

In India, land continues to be of
enormous economic, social, and symbolic relevance. The main
purpose of this report is to review new empirical evidence
on land administration and land policy, as well as the
possible interaction between the two, to derive policy
conclusions. The empirical basis for the discussion of land
administration is provided by a review of land records,
survey and settlement, and land registration in 14 states.

This study has at its origin the land
question in Paraguay, namely that land ownership is highly
concentrated and has become a source of social conflict in
the rural areas where one-half of the population lives. A
central thesis of the study is that the existing patterns of
land use and ownership, in particular, the very large land
holdings (Zatifundio), are a reflection in part of the
almost insignificant land tax that is charged today on rural

This study has at its origin the land
question in Paraguay, namely that land ownership is highly
concentrated and has become a source of social conflict in
the rural areas where one-half of the population lives. A
central thesis of the study is that the existing patterns of
land use and ownership, in particular, the very large land
holdings (Zatifundio), are a reflection in part of the
almost insignificant land tax that is charged today on rural

This paper analyzes land transactions
between municipalities and private businesses based on
official data and business surveys in 15 regions of the
Russian Federation. Since the Russian Federation passed the
new Land Code in 2001, land privatization has been
officially encouraged by the federal government and in
particular, land under previously privatized buildings was
supposed to be privatized to the owner at a nominal price.

Although many African countries have
recently adopted highly innovative and pro-poor land laws,
lack of implementation thwarts their potentially
far-reaching impact on productivity, poverty reduction, and
governance. The authors use a representative household
survey from Ethiopia where, over a short period,
certificates to more than 20 million plots were issued to
describe the certification process, explore its incidence

This paper uses Ethiopian data to
explore credit rationing in semi-formal credit markets and
its effects on farmers' resource allocation and crop
productivity. Credit rationing -- both voluntarily and
involuntarily -- is found to be widespread in the sampled
rural villages, largely because of risk-related factors.
Political and social networks emerge as key determinants of
access to credit among smallholder, peasant farmers.