Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T08:16:33.765Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Land rights and the economic impacts of climatic anomalies on agriculture: evidence from Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2021

Mintewab Bezabih ,
Salvatore Di Falco Open the ORCID record for Salvatore Di Falco [Opens in a new window] ,
Alemu Mekonnen  and
Gunnar Kohlin
Mintewab Bezabih
Affiliation:
Environment and Climate Research Center, The Ethiopian Policy Studies Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Salvatore Di Falco*
Affiliation:
Geneva School of Economics and Management, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Alemu Mekonnen
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Gunnar Kohlin
Affiliation:
Environment for Development Initiative, University of Gothenburg, Goteborg, Sweden
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: salvatore.difalco@unige.ch
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper shows that strengthening land rights via a land certification program may reduce the negative economic impact of climatic anomalies in the highlands of Ethiopia. The results support the hypothesis that certification enhances the likelihood of adapting some of the land-related investments, thus supporting adaptation enhancing mechanisms and the resilience of the farming sector. Institutional factors may play a key role in supporting farmers’ adaptive capacity to climatic challenges.

Keywords

climatic anomaliesEthiopialand certificationproperty rightsRicardian analysis

JEL classification

Q54: Climate • Natural Disasters and Their Management • Global Warming Q5: Environmental Economics Q51: Valuation of Environmental Effects
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 26 , Special Issue 5-6: Weather and Climate Impacts in Developing Countries , October 2021 , pp. 632 - 656
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abadie, A (2005) Semiparametric difference-in-differences estimators. The Review of Economic Studies 72, 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acemoglu, D, Chaves, I, Osafo-Kwaako, P and Robinson, J (2014) Indirect rule and state weakness in Africa: sierra Leone in comparative perspective. In Edwards, S, Johnson, S and Weil, DN (eds), African Successes, Volume IV: Sustainable Growth. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 343–370.Google Scholar
Adenew, B (2006) Effective aid for Small Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Southern Civil Society Perspectives – Ethiopia Case Study. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Canadian Food Security Policy Group.Google Scholar
Adenew, B and Abdi, F (2005) Land Registration in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Research Securing Land Rights in Africa (Report 3). London: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Angelsen, A (1999) Agricultural expansion and deforestation: modelling the impact of population, market forces and property rights. Journal of Development Economics 58, 185–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auffhammer, M and Schlenker, W (2014) Empirical studies on agricultural impacts and adaptation. Energy Economics 46, 555–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrios, S, Bertinelli, L and Strobl, E (2010) Trends in rainfall and economic growth in Africa: a neglected cause of the African growth tragedy. Review of Economics and Statistics 92, 350–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benin, S, Ahmed, M, Pender, J and Ehui, S (2005) Development of land rental markets and agricultural productivity growth: the case of northern Ethiopia. Journal of African Economics 14, 21–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besley, T (1995) Property rights and investment incentives: theory and evidence from Ghana. Journal of Political Economy 103, 903–937.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besley, T, Burchardi, K and Ghatak, M (2012) Incentives and the De Soto effect. Quarterly Journal of Economics 127, 237–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bezabih, M, Holden, S and Mannberg, A (2016) The role of land certification in reducing gaps in productivity between male- and female-owned farms in rural Ethiopia. Journal of Development Studies 52, 360–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boardman, J and Favis-Mortlock, D (1993) Climate change and soil erosion in Britain. The Geographical Journal 159, 179–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, R, Deschênes, O, Donaldson, D and Greenstone, M (2013) The Unequal Effects of Weather and Climate Change: Evidence From Mortality in India. London, UK: Mimeo. The London School of Economics and Political Sciences.Google Scholar
Byerlee, D, Spielman, J, Alemu, D and Gautam, M (2007) Policies to Promote Cereal Intensification in Ethiopia: A Review of Evidence and Experience. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00707. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Crewett, W, Bogale, A and Korf, B (2008) Land Tenure in Ethiopia: Continuity and Change, Shifting Rulers, and the Quest for State Control. CAPRi Working Paper No. 91. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.Google Scholar
Deininger, K and Chamorro, S (2004) Investment and income effects of land regularization: the case of Nicaragua. Agricultural Economics 30, 101–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deininger, K and Jin, S (2006) Tenure security and land-related investment: evidence from Ethiopia. European Economic Review 50, 1245–1277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deininger, K, Ali, D, Holden, S and Zevenbergen, J (2008) Rural land certification in Ethiopia: process, initial impact, and implications for other African countries. World Development 36, 1786–1812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deininger, K, Ali, D and Alemu, T (2011) Impacts of land certification on tenure security, investment, and land markets. Land Economics 87, 312–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Janvry, A, Gonzalez-Navaro, M, Emerick, K and Sadoulet, E (2015) Delinking land rights from land use: certification and migration in Mexico. American Economic Review 105, 3125–3149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dell, M, Jones, B and Olken, B (2012) Temperature shocks and economic growth: evidence from the last half century. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 4, 66–95.Google Scholar
Dell, M, Jones, B and Olken, B (2014) What do we learn from the weather? The new climate-economy literature. Journal of Economic Literature 52, 740–798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deressa, T and Hassan, R (2010) Economic impact of climate change on crop production in Ethiopia: evidence from cross-section measures. Journal of African Economies 18, 529–554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deressa, T, Hassan, R and Ringler, C (2008) Measuring Ethiopian Farmers’ Vulnerability to Climate Change Across Regional States. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00806, Washington, DC: Environment and Production Technology Division.Google Scholar
Di Falco, S and Chavas, JP (2009) On crop biodiversity, risk exposure and food security in the highlands of Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91, 599–611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Falco, S and Veronesi, M (2013) How can African agriculture adapt to climate change? A counterfactual analysis from Ethiopia. Land Economics 89, 743–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Falco, S, Veronesi, M and Yesuf, M (2011) Does adaptation to climate change provide food security? A micro-perspective from Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 93, 829–846.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Falco, S, Laurent-Lucchetti, J, Veronesi, M and Kohlin, G (2020) Property rights, land disputes and water scarcity: empirical evidence from Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 102, 54–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feder, G, Chalamwong, Y, Onchan, T and Hongladarom, C (1988) Land Policies and Farm Productivity in Thailand. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) (1995) The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa: Federal Negarit Gazetta.Google Scholar
Field, E (2005) Property rights and investment in urban slums. Journal of the European Economic Association 3, 279–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fishman, R (2012) Climate Change, Rainfall Variability, and Adaptation Through Irrigation: Evidence From Indian Agriculture. Working Paper, New York: Columbia University.Google Scholar
Fort, R (2007) Property Rights After Market Liberalization Reforms: Land Titling and Investments In Rural Peru (PhD thesis). University of Wageningen, Wageningen, the Netherlands.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galiani, S and Schargrodsky, E (2010) Property rights for the poor: effects of land titling. Journal of Public Economics 94, 700–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gebremedhin, B and Swinton, S (2003) Investment in soil conservation in northern Ethiopia: the role of land tenure security and public programs. Agricultural Economics 29, 69–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, M and Udry, C (2008) The profits of power: land rights and agricultural investment in Ghana. Journal of Political Economy 116, 981–1022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenstone, M and Jack, K (2015) Envirodevonomics: a research agenda for an emerging field. Journal of Economic Literature 53, 5–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grepperud, S (1997) Soil conservation as an investment in land. Journal of Development Economics 54, 455–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holden, S, Deininger, K and Ghebru, H (2009) Impacts of low-cost land certification on investment and productivity. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91, 359–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houngbedji, K (2016) Abadie's semiparametric difference-in-differences estimator. The Stata Journal 16, 482–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacoby, H, Li, G and Rozelle, S (2002) Hazards of expropriation: tenure insecurity and investment in rural China. American Economic Review 92, 1420–1447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kato, E, Ringler, C, Yesuf, M and Bryan, E (2009) Are soil conservation technologies a buffer against production risk in the face of climate change? Evidence from Ethiopia and South Africa. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Ethiopia Development Research Institute (EDRI) 15.Google Scholar
Kebede, B (2008) Land reform, distribution of land and institutions in rural Ethiopia: analysis of inequality with dirty data. Journal of African Economies 17, 550–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurukulasuriya, P, Mendelsohn, R, Hassan, R, Benhin, J, Diop, M, Eid, HM, Fosu, K, Gbetibouo, G, Jain, S, Mahamadou, A, El-Marsafawy, S, Ouda, S, Ouedraogo, M, Sène, I, Seo, N, Maddison, D and Dinar, A (2006) Will African agriculture survive climate change? World Bank Economic Review 20, 367–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, A and Bromley, D (1990) Property rights, externalities and resource degradation: locating the tragedy. Journal of Development Economics 33, 35–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lobell, D, Burke, M, Tebaldi, C, Mastrandrea, M, Falcon, W and Naylor, R (2008) Prioritizing climate change adaption needs for food security in 2030. Science (New York, N.Y.) 319, 607–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massetti, E and Mendelsohn, R (2011) Estimating Ricardian models with panel data. Climate Change Economics 2, 301–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mekonnen, A (2009) Tenure security, resource endowments, and tree growing: evidence from the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Land Economics 85, 292–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendelsohn, R, Nordhaus, W and Shaw, D (1994) The impact of global warming on agriculture: a Ricardian analysis. American Economic Review 84, 753–771.Google Scholar
Mundlak, Y (1978) On the pooling of time series and cross section data. Econometrica 46, 69–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nickola, T (1988) The agricultural sector in Ethiopia: organization, policies and prospects. In Penrose, A (ed.), Beyond the Famine: An Examination of Issues Behind the Famine in Ethiopia. Geneva: International Institute for Relief and Development, Food for Hungry International, pp. 99–141.Google Scholar
O'Loughlin, J, Witmer, F, Linke, A, Laing, A, Gettelman, A and Dudhia, J (2012) Climate variability and conflict risk in East Africa, 1990–2009. PNAS 109, 18344–18349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palm, L (2010) Quick and cheap mass land registration and computerisation in Ethiopia. FIG Congress, Facing the Challenges – Building the Capacity, Sydney, Australia, 11–16 April 2010.Google Scholar
Parry, M, Rosenzweig, C and Livermore, M (2005) Climate change, global food supply and risk of hunger. Philosophical Transactions B 360, 2125–2138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pender, J and Fafchamps, M (2006) Land lease markets and agricultural efficiency in Ethiopia. Journal of African Economies 15, 251–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Place, F and Migot-Adholla, S (1998) The economic effects of land registration on smallholder farms in Kenya: evidence from Nyeri and Kakamega Districts. Land Economics 74 360–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenbaum, P and Rubin, D (1983) The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika 70, 41–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rozelle, S and Swinnen, J (2004) Success and failure of reform: insights from the transition of agriculture. Journal of Economic Literature 42, 404–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlenker, W and Roberts, M (2006) Nonlinear effects of weather on corn yields. Review of Agricultural Economics 28, 391–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlenker, W and Roberts, M (2009) Nonlinear temperature effects indicate severe damages to US crop yields under climate change. PNAS 106, 15594–15598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seo, N and Mendelsohn, R (2008) A Ricardian analysis of the impact of climate change on South American farms. Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research 68, 69–79.Google Scholar
Teklewold, H, Kassie, M, Shiferaw, B and Kohlin, G (2013) Cropping systems diversification, conservation tillage and modern seed adoption in Ethiopia: impacts on household income, agro-chemical use and demand for labor. Ecological Economics 93, 85–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, J, Mendelsohn, R, Dinar, A and Huang, J (2010) How Chinese farmers change crop choice to adapt to climate change. Climate Change Economics 1, 167–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodfine, A (2009) Using sustainable land management practices to adapt to and mitigate climate change in sub-Saharan Africa: resource guide version 1.0. TerrAfrica. Available at www.terrafrica.org.Google Scholar
Wooldridge, J (2002) Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
World Bank (2008) Ethiopia: Climate Factsheet. Washington, DC: World Bank. Available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/Ethiopia_Country_Note.pdf.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Bezabih et al. supplementary material

Bezabih et al. supplementary material

Download Bezabih et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 221.1 KB