Formalising property relations in the developing world: The wrong prescription for the wrong malady

Formalisation of property relations through the registration of land and the issuance of titles is but the latest in a long history of optimistic policy prescriptions imposed on the poor nations of the world. As with the discredited Washington Consensus, the imperative of formalisation flows from the flawed inductive logic that says” “rich countries have formalised tenure, therefore formalisation of tenure will help make you rich.” Unfortunately, empirical research on formalisation of tenure as a stimulus to agricultural investment is unable to establish any robust and reliable connection between “more secure” tenure and enhanced agricultural productivity. Urban slum dwellers who get titles but who are without work cannot possibly leverage credit from the banking sector. Formalisation erodes and displaces existing social networks and arrangements that do offer security. Formalisation offers little assurance that beneficial outcomes are inevitable. As with a long list of previous simple solutions to complex problems, this too shall pass.