Rural Land Certification in Ethiopia: Process, Initial Impact, and Implications for Other African Countries

Although many African countries have recently adopted highly innovative and propoor land laws, lack of implementation thwarts their potentially far-reaching impact oil productivity, poverty reduction. and governance. We use a representative household survey from Ethiopia where. over a short period. certificates to more than 20 million plots were issued to describe the certification process. explore its incidence and preliminary impact, and quantify the costs. While this provides many suggestions to ensure sustainability and enhance impact. Ethiopia's highly cost-effective first-time registration process provides important lessons. (C) 2008 The World Bank. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.