Squatting as a Transition Problem in South Africa

This paper applies principles of transition to land tenure and squatting in South Africa. Political transition in South Africa reassigned political property rights, thereby contriving contestable, rentseeking incentives for squatting as a means to privatise land and redistribute wealth. Government failure to establish and protect private property rights in a squatter camp resulted in common-pool problems that resisted private and public resolution with consequent rent dissipation and social loss. In response to this retreat from duty, informal agents emerged to claim their own share of the prize. Without enforceable rules of capture, the growth of squatter camps in South Africa will continue