The politics of property rights institutions in Africa / Ato Kwamena Onoma.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Onoma, Ato Kwamena, 1975- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Right of property--Africa, Sub-Saharan.

Right of property.

Property--Africa, Sub-Saharan.

Property.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 227 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why do some political leaders create and strengthen institutions like title registries and land tribunals that secure property rights to land while others neglect these institutions or destroy those that already exist? How do these institutions evolve once they have been established? This book answers these questions through spatial and temporal comparison of national and subnational cases from Botswana, Ghana, and Kenya and, to a lesser extent, Zimbabwe. Onoma argues that the level of property rights security that leaders prefer depends on how they use land. However, the extent to which leaders' institutional preferences are translated into actual institutions depends on the level of leaders' capacity. Further, once established, these institutions through their very working can contribute to their own decline over time. This book is unique in revealing the political and economic reasons why some leaders unlike others prefer an environment of insecure rights even as land prices increase.

Contents:

Divergent attitudes towards property rights institutions

Explaining institutional choice and change

Varying responses by Ghanian and Batswanaian state leaders

Traditional leaders take charge in Akyem Abuakwa and Ga

Building and then demolishing institutions in Kenya

Endogenous contributions to institutional change

Conclusion

Appendix : Notes on field research.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-20876-9

0-511-84963-X

1-107-54619-2

1-282-65141-2

9786612651410

0-511-69006-1

0-511-69154-8

0-511-69266-8

0-511-69080-0

0-511-68932-2

OCLC:

645092838