Land- and Credit-Market Effects of Urban Land Titling : Evidence from Lesotho

While land titling is advocated to improve land and financial market functioning in developing country cities, evidence of credit market effects is limited. We use 20 years of registry data from Lesotho to assess impacts of an urban titling program overall and by component (titling vs. policy/institutional reforms) on land and mortgage markets by gender over time. In the longer term, both components increased land and mortgage markets activity, though at different rates. In the short term, titling did not affect mortgage markets, but policy reforms increased registered parcels’ likelihood of being mortgaged by reducing registration costs. Titling catalyzed translation of earlier family law changes to strengthen women’s property rights (that had no independent effect) into social and economic empowerment. Detailed analysis of impact channels and time profiles for titling programs’ components can provide policy-relevant insight and is relatively easy using parcel-level registry data