African countries' ability to create productive jobs and to effectively confront the challenges of climate change will depend on land policies that promote investment, market participation, and taxation of private land to be able to provide essential public goods and services. However, high cost...

Although land and associated property is a key part of national wealth and protecting rights to them is a key function of the state, Africa's formal land institutions often still operate on regulations that barely changed since colonial times, undermining public trust and leading to high levels...

We use inheritance patterns over three generations of individuals to assess the impact of changes in the Hindu Succession Act that grant daughters equal coparcenary birth rights in joint family property that were denied to daughters in the past. We show that the amendment significantly increased...

African economies are facing a series of challenges to their post-pandemic recovery. Economic activity in the region is slowing to 3.3 percent amid global headwinds, including weak global growth and tightening global financial conditions. Elevated inflation rates and resulting policy tightening,...

African economies are facing a series of challenges to their post-pandemic recovery. Economic activity in the region is slowing to 3.3 percent amid global headwinds, including weak global growth and tightening global financial conditions. Elevated inflation rates and resulting policy tightening,...

Despite strong beliefs that property titling and registration will enhance credit access, empirical evidence in support of such effects remains scant. The gradual roll-out of computerization of land registry systems across Andhra Pradesh's 387 sub-registry offices allows us to combine quarterly...

This paper examines whether and to what extent amendments in inheritance legislation impact women's physical and human capital investments, using disaggregated household level data from India. The authors use inheritance patterns over three generations of individuals to assess the impact of...

By improving access, without altering the underlying information, computerization of land registration provides a unique case to test for credit supply effects of improved land administration that have often been elusive in the literature. We exploit the variation in the timing of the shift from...

This paper sheds light on how to harvest the"youth dividend"in Sub-Saharan Africa by creating jobs in agriculture. The agriculture that attracts the youth will have to be profitable, competitive, and dynamic. These are the same characteristics needed for agriculture to deliver growth, to improve...

Despite strong beliefs that property titling and registration will enhance credit access, empirical evidence in support of such effects remains scant. The gradual roll-out of computerization of land registry systems across Andhra Pradesh’s 387 sub-registry offices (SROs) allows us to combine...