The impact of land property rights interventions on investment and agricultural productivity in developing countries: a systematic review

This systematic review by Lawry and colleagues examines the impacts of interventions to strengthen land property rights on agricultural and livelihood outcomes in rural areas. They also assess whether effects are different across contexts, and for men and women. Finally, they explore the barriers and facilitators productivity improvements. The results suggest tenure formalisation has produced significant gains in agricultural productivity in Asia and Latin America, with more limited productivity gains in Africa. However, productivity gains may take time to become apparent, and the effects may vary substantially across contexts. Improvements may be dependent on other supportive conditions, such as the performance of credit, input and product markets.