Land Policies for Resilient and Equitable Growth in Africa

Land institutions and policies will be critical to help African countries respond to the challenges of climate change, urban expansion, structural transformation, and gender equality. Together, they affect urban dwellers’ ability to access productive jobs, live in decent housing, and breathe clean air; farmers’ and women entrepreneurs’ capacity to insure against shocks, increase productivity, and diversify income sources; and governments’ ability to plan, tax property to provide services, and manage public land in a way that provides sustained local benefits by attracting investment, including via climate finance. "Land Policies for Resilient and Equitable Growth in Africa" draws on a wealth of data, examples, and studies from Africa and beyond to show that regulatory and institutional reforms can harness this potential by improving quality, coverage, usefulness, and sustainability of documented land rights. By identifying viable reforms with transformative potential that fully harness digital opportunities, this book provides practical guidance to governments seeking to enhance their land institutions’ performance; to their partners supporting such reform; and to policymakers, land professionals, scholars, and civil society aiming to lay the foundations for Africa to better utilize its economic, human, and ecological potential. "This volume provides an essential reference, based on an impressive review of the literature on land issues in Africa and an exhaustive account of policies and policy experiments aimed to promote the efficient use of this key resource for the development of the continent." — François Bourguignon, Professor Emeritus, Paris School of Economics "Many African governments will find this report highly useful. It is full of little-known successes and practical ways by which they can improve their land policies by harnessing new technologies. Africa’s urban population will rapidly triple: clarifying land rights is an urgent priority in building the successful cities of the future. By 2050, if the inherited policies of the past were retained, today’s youth would be struggling in unliveable mega-slums." — Sir Paul Collier, Professor of Economics & Public Policy, Oxford University "This is an excellent study that combines insights from years of research with practical insights for policy and action on the ground." — Jyotsna Puri, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Knowledge, International Fund for Agricultural Development "Land institutions affect the effective use of land but also the functioning of credit, labor, and product markets. Nowhere are these issues more relevant than in Africa, and this report is important and timely." — Johan Swinnen, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute "This report illustrates how legal and institutional reforms that capitalize on digital opportunities can strengthen land institutions and policies to optimize land use, enhance people’s rights, narrow gender disparities, and catalyze structural transformation in a manner that aligns with the continent’s distinctive context and serve as a pivotal instrument for social and economic advancement." — Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization