Land tenure security and investments in tree planting
2011
R.W. Lunduka (ed)
It is widely accepted that secure tenure on land induces investment. However, research in sub-Saharan African has also found high levels of investment by insecure tenure households. This study investigates under what circumstances insecure households have high investment incentives in tree planting. Data are taken from Malawi, where we find both matrilineal and patrilineal land inheritance systems. Under these systems, a household can reside in either a patrilocal, a matrilocal, or a neolocal location. Patrilocal residence households are more tenure secure than matrilocal and neolocal residence households. A random-effects instrumental-variable probit model (IVP) and a two-stage conditional maximum-likelihood model (2SCMLE) controlling for the endogeneity of tenure security were used to predict the probability and intensity of tree planting in the three residence locations. The probability of investing in trees is high in patrilocal residences and neolocal residences, but low in matrilocal residences. Although neolocal residents are insecure, they increase their tenure security with investment, while matrilocal residents do not have the ability to change their security. Therefore, it can be concluded that insecure households have higher investment incentives when they can increase their security with those investments.
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