Showing papers on "Leasehold estate published in 2011"

The Green Rush: the Global Race for Farmland and the Rights of Land Users

Abstract: The increased volatility of prices of agricultural commodities on international markets and the merger between the energy and food commodities markets have led to a sudden surge of interest in the acquisition or lease of farmland in developing countries. The result is �land-grabbing�: a global enclosure movement in which large areas of arable land change hands through deals often negotiated between host governments and foreign investors with little or no participation from the local communities who depend on access to those lands for their livelihoods. While recognizing that these transactions should be more closely scrutinized, some commentators see opportunities in this development, either because it means more investment in agriculture and thus productivity gains, or because it will accelerate the development of a market for land rights that could benefit current land users, provided their property rights are recognized through titling schemes. This Article questions these views. Based on an analysis of the relationship to property rights of different categories of land users in the rural areas in developing countries, this Article argues that thepoorest farmers will be priced out from these emerging markets for land rights, and that the interests of those depending on the commons will be ignored. I suggest that there are other ways to protect security of tenure: anti-eviction laws, tenancy statutes, and policies aimed at ensuring more equitable access to land. Although measures such as these require a disaggregation of property rights and an abandonment of the Western understanding of property as necessarily implying transferability, they may offer more promising solutions to the rural poor.

Efficiency of Land Allocation through Tenancy Markets: Evidence from China

Abstract: Tenancy markets provide an opportunity to trade land between labor-scarce farm households and labor-abundant households. In China and other rapidly growing countries in Asia where rural to urban migration is becoming active, facilitating well-functioning tenancy markets is important to increase farm size and farmer’s income. In China, however, individual land rights are weak and in many communities land may be reallocated by village leaders to other households if it is rented out. We hypothesize that the risk of expropriation of rented-out land is a major constraint on land rental transactions in China. We find empirical evidence in support of this hypothesis using farm household data.

A landholder-based approach to the design of private-land conservation programs

Abstract: Many ecosystems exist primarily, or solely, on privately owned (freehold) or managed (leasehold) land. In rural and semirural areas, local and regional government agencies are commonly responsible for encouraging landholders to conserve native vegetation and species on these private properties. Yet these agencies often lack the capacity to design and implement conservation programs tailored to rural and semirural landholdings and instead offer one program to all landholders. Landholders may elect not to participate because the program is irrelevant to their property or personal needs; consequently, vegetation–retention objectives may not be achieved. We differentiated landholders in Queensland, Australia, according to whether they derived income from the land (production landholders) or not (nonproduction landholders). We compared these two groups to identify similarities and differences that may inform the use of policy instruments (e.g., voluntary, economic, and regulatory) in conservation program design. We interviewed 45 landholders participating in three different conservation agreement programs (price-based rate [property tax] rebate; market-based tender; and voluntary, permanent covenant). Production landholders were more likely to participate in short-term programs that offered large financial incentives that applied to 75% of their property. These results may be explained by significant differences in the personal circumstances of production and nonproduction landholders (income, education, health) and differences in their norms (beliefs about how an individual is expected to act) and attitudes. Knowledge of these differences may allow for development of conservation programs that better meet the needs of landholders and thus increase participation in conservation programs and retention of native vegetation.

A Neglected Aspect of the Housing Market: The Caretakers of Peri-urban Accra, Ghana

Abstract: In housing markets in sub-Saharan Africa, construction is predominantly undertaken by individuals rather than by the state or private companies. Due to lack of housing finance, the construction process takes many years hence owners often engage live-in caretakers to protect their property. Based on fieldwork conducted in peri-urban Accra, this paper explores why the demand for caretakers arises, why there is a supply of caretakers, who the caretakers are and their living conditions. Although life as a caretaker is far from ideal, the demand for and supply of caretakers are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Caretaking is a form of housing tenancy which is overlooked in housing and labour laws and practices, and hence demands more attention from both researchers and policy-makers.

Restructuring of agrarian labour relations after Fast Track Land Reform in Zimbabwe

Abstract: The fast track land redistribution programme generated new agrarian labour relations altering the tying of labour on the large farms to tenancy, supplemented by casual labour from the communal areas. Job losses and displacement occurred, but this is not the whole story as new and diverse sources of rural employment have emerged, including high levels of self-employment on small farms (A1) supplemented by casual employment. Large farms dependent on wage labour experience labour shortages despite the mechanisation drive. However, communal areas and A1 farmers continue to provide labour to large farms, although labour supplies are negotiated on new terms.

Green mark certification: does the market understand?

Abstract: A corollary to the green building revolution is the certification of green buildings by relevant organizations. The pertinent question is whether the market understands the certification. The paper addresses the issue via a quantitative (hedonic model) and psychographic (survey) study of the Singapore residential green building market. The results reveal that green certification commands a statistically significant premium. However, the market is confused by the different tiers of certification as evidenced by incommensurate premia for the different tiers. Furthermore, the fact that the premium varies with tenure (freehold/ leasehold) and location after controlling for all other attributes may imply that the premium may not be solely attributable to green certification.

Towards a sustainable private rented sector: the lessons from other countries

Abstract: "Towards a sustainable private rented sector" compares the UK private rental market with those in fifteen other industrialised nations. It found that security of tenure is a key factor in countries – such as Germany – where private renting is seen as a practical choice, even for middle-income families. Kath Scanlon, Research Fellow at LSE London, explains: "Households are unlikely to choose a privately-rented house or flat as a long-term family home or a place to live in retirement if they are faced with the uncertainty of a short-term lease and aware they could be asked to leave at short notice, at any time." monopoly housesAssured tenancies which allow tenants to stay in a property indefinitely do exist in the UK but are very little used. This is because buy-to-let mortgage lenders often require that properties be let on shorthold (six month) tenancies, and many landlords want the flexibility to sell a property with vacant possession if house prices go up. There is also a lack of demand from tenants who may not be aware that these types of tenancies exist Kath Scanlon said: "In lots of other countries indefinite tenancies are the 'default' and this encourages better-off households to consider the private rental market as an option. With homeownership currently not a possibility for many in the 'squeezed middle' policymakers should look at finding ways to encourage the use of more secure tenancy agreements where there could be a demand." Private renting now accounts for 17 per cent of homes in England and this proportion has been rising rapidly because of the difficulties facing those who want to buy but cannot because of the current financial crisis, a shortage of social housing and demand from mobile households. The research also highlights that encouraging single ownership of apartment blocks could help ensure that investment in private renting was more attractive to landlords in the private rental market. A range of investors would be attracted to these types of properties and increase the supply of housing for rent. Single ownership of blocks would have the additional benefit of bringing some economies of scale to the management of properties, particularly the maintenance of common areas and the replacement of capital equipment. The research also points out that the tax incentives for private landlords in the UK are less generous than in many other countries. Most UK landlords are individuals or smaller companies. Allowing them to offset rental losses against other types of income, as is common elsewhere, might help expand the supply of good quality rented housing.

Caste, Religion and Malnutrition Linkages

Abstract: In reality, the agricultural workers face an inadequate demand for their labour power. The wage rates under MGNREGS are in fact lower than those specified un-der the minimum wage act and labourers are able to get no more than 35 workdays in Konaseema out of the promised 100 workdays. In addition, they face competi -tion in agricultural work from migrants who come from Bengal and Orissa. As a result, workers from Konaseema migrate to other regions in the districts of West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, and sometimes even to Hyderabad. They work in paddy fields, tobacco farms and brick kilns, etc. In pockets of Konaseema, such as Antarvedi, a large proportion of women belonging to Mala community migrate to Gulf countries to work as domestic labour (maids) and other low-end service occupations.Way ForwardFrom our field visit, we feel that there are both the issue of remunerative prices as well as deeper class contradictions at work in the crop holiday movement. We see that the crop holiday movement is essentially an attempt by the landowning classes and market intermediaries to dis-cipline workers, tenants and the welfare state (whatever is left of it). Of course, the state has to improve its procurement mechanisms (support prices, storage capa-city) of paddy so that the dependence of actual cultivators on market intermediar-ies and landlords is reduced. Tenants need to be given access to institutional credit. They need better protection, while they should be able to directly access various other state support packages meant for ac-tual cultivators (including crop insurance).However, there are important structural changes that need emphasis. First, the re-appearance of widespread tenancy raises the old question of why the actual tillers (mostly dalit tenants) do not own land. The state should seriously revisit the question of land (and tenancy) reforms in this newly emerged context. The other important issue is that millers benefit significantly from paddy procurement. They get a huge margin for the marginal value addition that they make. In the medium run, why cannot paddy cultivators form their own milling cooperatives? This will help them own the value that they are creating, and in this process improve their livelihoods.

Tenancy in “Anticommons”? A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Co-ownership

Abstract: This article argues that a resource held in tenancy in common is likely to be underused and underinvested, and is thus better characterized as anticommons. Nevertheless, tenancy in common does not necessarily create tragedy, as under most legal regimes each co-tenant has a right to petition for partition at any time, and after partition, new owners are likely to utilize the resource more efficiently. Using data from Taiwan, this article finds that cooperation among co-tenants does not fail as often as the literature has suggested. In 2005–2010, at least 82.5 percent of the co-ownership partitions were conducted through voluntary agreements, while only about 7.5 percent of the partitions were ordered by the court. In addition, using multinomial logistic regression models, this article finds that the court tends to order, and the plaintiffs tend to petition for, partition by sale when partitioning in kind or partial partition would create excessively small plots. (JEL code: K11)

Land tenure, investment and adoption of Sawah rice production technology in Nigeria and Ghana: A qualitative approach

Abstract: This paper explores the linkages among land tenure, investment and adoption of Sawah rice production technology in Nigeria and Ghana. Focus group discussion was held with farmersadopting Sawah technology; in all the villages where Sawah rice technology had been introduced. The study found that in Nigeria, land tenure system was predominantly through inheritance, while those on hired land had an average period of about 3 years as the tenancy period, while in Ghana land tenure system was based on lease and sharecropping. Farmers reported that the use of secured renting is a coping strategy with the land tenure problem in order to ensure the sustainability of Sawah technology. The farmers were also of the opinion that, investment in Sawah technology is worthy and with higher returns on the long run. The study recommends that issues of land tenure rights must be properly ascertained by farmers, in order to enhance continuous adoption and sustained profit from Sawah technology. Key words: Sawah technology, land tenure, investment, adoption, secured rent.

The Regulation of Residential Tenancy Markets in Post-War Western Europe: An Economic Analysis1

Abstract: 1. Introduction In several European countries, the weight of the tenancy market relative to the total stock of principal residences has diminished throughout the 20 century. Figure 1 shows, using information held in public databases of the European central banks, recent evidence for 12 European countries. Several explanations could be provided to understand that general trend, ranging from the finance literature, which considers housing as an investment good, to the more general housing economics literature that regards housing as a consumption good (see Henderson and Ionnides, 1983 and Rosen et al. 1984 for some early references). For instance, in recent decades improvements in access to credit and significant development of the financial markets (Iacoviello and Minetti, 2003, Kumbhakar and Lozano-Vivas, 2004, Blanco and Restoy, 2007) have occurred, which may have favored the property market. Some fiscal regimes have also privileged buying over renting of residences (see Lopez-Garcia, 1996, Garcia-Vaquero and Martinez, 2005, for the case of Spain). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Nevertheless, it is only some specialized literature which takes into account the effects of regulations and institutions of the tenancy market (other than fiscal policies), such as rent control clauses or periods of protection for tenants. A weak tenancy market and a diminishing rate of tenancy seem to be related, for instance, to the introduction of rent control policies. In this respect, the microeconomic intuition that relates a rent ceiling with a diminishing quantity and quality of residences in the tenancy market has been supported by several theoretical explorations (Basu and Emerson, 2000, Raess and Ungern-Sternberg, 2002, Basu and Emerson 2003) or empirical analyses (Johnson, 1951, Alston et al., 1992, Glaeser and Luttmer, 2003, Sims 2007 among others). However, most of the research on rent control has merely examined the type of market intervention enforced in local markets of the United States (for a summary, see Turner and Malpezzi, 2003). In contrast, less analysis has been made of the specific effects of European-style tenancy restrictions. Exceptions to that are Pena and Ruiz-Castillo (1984) for Spain, by Munch and Svarer (2002) for Denmark and by Lyytikainen (2006) in respect of Finland. Moreover, the regulations in force in various European countries impose not only rent control clauses but also clauses of protection term (duration clauses) against eviction. Both kinds of rules may have had an effect on the diminishing share of tenancy in very different economies. At the same time partially liberalizing laws, such as those adopted in the UK (England and Wales) and Finland, may have had the opposite effects. The aim of this paper is to analyze the regulations specifically directed to the tenancy markets in Europe and to provide a theoretical exploration of their economic implications. The structure of this paper proceeds as follows: firstly, the paper identifies the most common market regulations affecting European tenancy contracts by analyzing the various national laws (section 2). Those regulations are then introduced in a model of tenancy markets to explore their effects theoretically (section 3). Finally, the paper draws some conclusions based on the analysis carried out (section 4). 2. The regulation of housing tenancy markets in Europe At the beginning of the 20th century, "contractual freedom" inspired the contents of tenancy contracts in several European countries, following the principle of the "autonomy" of private parties. (3) However, as the century progressed, "contractual freedom" was gradually restricted by the introduction of some tenancy regulations (such as rent ceilings, compulsory terms or control over the increase of the rent) which had the objective of improving the situation of tenants in the context of a shortage of rental housing stock following the First and Second World Wars (or the Civil War in the case of Spain). …

A theory of sharecropping: The role of price behavior and imperfect competition☆

Abstract: This paper proposes a theory of sharecropping on the basis of price behavior in agriculture and imperfectly competitive nature of rural product markets. We consider a contractual setting between one landlord and one tenant with seasonal variation of price, where the tenant receives a low price for his output while the landlord can sell his output at a higher price by incurring a cost of storage. We consider two different classes of contracts: (i) tenancy contracts and (ii) crop-buying contracts. It is shown that sharecropping is the optimal form within tenancy contracts and it also dominates crop-buying contracts provided the price variation is not too large. Then we consider interlinked contracts that have both tenancy and crop-buying elements and show that there are multiple optimal interlinked contracts. Finally, proposing an equilibrium refinement that incorporates imperfect competition in the rural product market, it is shown that the unique contract that is robust to this refinement results in sharecropping.

Method and system for computerized tracking, analyzing and reporting of information specific to residential and commercial tenancy histories

Abstract: A method and system for collecting, tracking, analyzing and reporting tenancy histories is provided along with a rent score and application adjudication process for assessing new tenancies. A tenancy history is complied for each tenancy life cycle (approval, move-in, move-out) for all manner of tenancies residential and commercial. A rent scoring model employs a tenancy scorecard of all events experienced between a landlord and tenant. On demand, a tenant's history data is analyzed to present a snap shot of the present status of a tenant considering all historical events. A landlord's report may include particulars of monthly tenancy payments, legal matters, sheriff enforcement, collection and real-time rent scoring. Optionally the rent score may be combined with certain credit information to create a comprehensive standing. The model may consider other factors relating to tenancy history such as, acceptance rating, evictions, collections, employment, income and expenses, and other rental property management information.

The Regulation of Land Markets: Evidence from Tenancy Reform in India

Abstract: While the regulation of tenancy arrangements is widespread in the developing world, evidence on how such regulation influences the long-run allocation of land and labor remains limited. To provide such evidence, this paper exploits quasi-random assignment of linguistically similar areas to different South Indian states and historical variation in landownership across social groups. Roughly thirty years after the bulk of tenancy reform occurred, areas that witnessed greater regulation of tenancy have lower land inequality and higher wages and agricultural labor supply. We argue that stricter regulations reduced the rents landowners can extract from tenants and thus increased land sales to relatively richer and more productive middle caste tenants; this is reflected in aggregate productivity gains. At the same time, tenancy regulations reduced landowner willingness to rent, adversely impacting low caste households who lacked access to credit markets. These groups experience greater landlessness, and are more likely to work as agricultural labor.

Caste Discrimination, Land Reforms and Land Market Performance in Nepal

Abstract: This paper assesses the implications of caste discrimination and past land reforms on the land rental market performance, land productivity and land use intensity in Nepal. The most severely discriminated group in the caste system is the Dalits, the so-called “untouchables”. Dalits faced religious, occupational and even, territorial discrimination. The study uses data from western Nepal. The low-caste households remain poorer than other households, have significantly smaller land endowments, and have poorer access to off-farm employment. They access additional land through the land rental market but the past “Land-to-the-tiller” policies have had the unintended effect of reducing their land access even though they have significantly higher land productivity than high-caste households. Many high-caste households prefer to rent out their land to other (less productive) high-caste households out of fear of losing their land if they rent it out to low-caste households. Imperfections in land and labor markets contribute to enhance the inverse farm size-productivity relationship. A new type of tenure reform is needed that enhances tenure security and land redistribution through voluntary land market transactions

Analysis of 44 Cases before the Landlord and Tenant Board Involving Bed Bug Infestations in Ontario, Canada: Focus on Adjudicator Decisions Based on Entomological/Pest Management Evidence and Accountability under the Residential Tenancy Act and Other Applicable Legislation

Abstract: The resurgence of bed bugs in major urban centres in North America has resulted in conflict between landlords and tenants. This is commonly focused on attribution of blame for source of infestation, on responsibility, on costs for preparation, treatment and losses, and for compensation as rent abatement and/or alternative temporary housing. In Ontario, Canada, these issues are often decided by adjudicators at the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing claims, counter-claims and defense by legal representation (lawyers and paralegals) as well as through mediation. Evidence in these hearings may include photographs, invoices for costs as well as testimony by tenants, landlords and “expert witnesses” who are most often pest control firms representing their landlord clients. A total of 44 Landlord and Tenant Board adjudicated cases available online were analyzed. The analysis included elements of the decisions such as adjudicator, claimant (landlord or tenant), basis of claim, review of evidence, amount of claim, amount awarded, and evaluation of the quality of the evidence. The results of the analysis of these findings are discussed. Recommendations for improvement of adjudicator decisions on the basis of knowledge of bed bug biology and Integrated Pest Management best practices are presented as well as the importance of education of tenants and landlords to a process of mutual trust, support and accountability.

Transformation of the commons in rural South-West Germany (18th-19th centuries)

Abstract: This article traces the individualization of common lands and its economic and political ramifications in a South-West German region (Baden Palatinate) in the 18th and 19th centuries. Based on statistical material and conflict-related archival sources (e.g. petitions, court records) it first shows how the division of collective resources along with an expanding leasehold market led to a landholding structure dominated by a semi-peasant middling sort. In the second place, the process of agricultural intensification fostered by the new management of the commons from the late 18th century onwards is analysed. Particular attention is given to the spread of cash crops (esp. tobacco) and the development of «commercial subsistence farming» among those smallholders who had become the most numerous group of inhabitants. Finally, the paper deals with the socio-political dimension of partitioning. While division schemes formed a major issue of local dispute and government interference in the period 1760-1810, their result – broad access to arable plots for village citizens – served as a pillar of rural prosperity later in the 19th century. Correspondingly, conflict patterns in the countryside shifted from internal strife to dissension between communes and state agencies. On the whole, the investigation area experienced a type of agrarian stabilisation and integration in the decades after 1800 which has been curiously underrated in the literature on Germany’s rural South-West, although it seems to have occurred more generally in fertile valley and basin regions with partible inheritance.

Land tenure system and food security in a selected area of mymensingh district

Abstract: Food security status of share and cash tenant farmers was examined by employing the food security index. Primary data were collected for 60 randomly selected respondents (30 share tenants and 30 cash tenants) from Narayanpur and Bhabokhali villages under Sadar Upazila of Mymensingh district. The socio-demographic analysis of the study indicated that cash tenants had a slightly higher family size (5.10) than that of share tenants (4.97). The educational status of the cash tenant household members was moderately better than that of share tenant household members. Most of the male members of tenant households (24.29 percent of share tenant and 19.74 percent of cash tenant households) had farming as the principal occupation. A significant difference in the average size of land holding between share tenant (0.579 ha) and cash tenant farmers (0.612 ha) was also observed. Socio-demographic characteristics differ between the two tenure groups. The average daily per capita calorie intake was significantly higher for the households under cash tenancy (2,198.20 kcal) than that of the households under share tenancy (1,944.15 kcal). The estimated food security indices for share tenant and cash tenant households were 0.92 and 1.02, respectively. The study concluded that the extent of food security situation was much better among the cash tenant households than that of the share tenant households based on various food security measures and thereby land tenure systems clearly affect the food security situation of selected households.

Land tenure systems and rental determination in a suburban villate in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Abstract: The long term development of Vietnamese agriculture depends on the efficient and effective use of land. In Vietnam, farmlands operat ed formerly by communes were redistributed among their members in the 1980s under Doimoi Policy. Land and related policies have direct effects on the livelihood of rural populations thro ugh influences on land tenure, farm size, fragmentation of land holdings, land use, and land credit markets. The average farm size in Red River Delta ranges from 0.2 ha to 0.3 ha per househ old and the plots of cultivated land are scattered over an average of 6 places. For the near future, f ood crops and rice are still the dominant crops but changes in land use are undoubtedly occurring. Low profitability cash crops have been abandoned in favor of crops offering higher returns such as hort icultural crops. This paper aims to clarify the current land tenure systems, including the pattern of land holding and the existing tenancy contracts of the farm households, and to investigate the rece nt changes in land use systems for agricultural production. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey, conducted in February 2008 in Da Ton Commune, Gia Lam District, Hanoi. It was found that about 75% of households had farm land area of under 0.36 ha, and the total number of land plot s of the 35 households investigated was 204, of which 70% were smaller than 0.09 ha in size. This c ommune experienced drastic changes in land use patterns and recently there emerged tenancy con tracts. More than 70% of contracts were for fruit land. It was considered that tenancy contracts were influenced not only by economic factors but also by social factors.

Rural Credit Market and the Extent of Tenancy: Micro Evidence from Rural West Bengal

Abstract: In many developing countries, it has been found that the rural credit market is imperfect in nature. There are substantial variations in the availability of formal credit in rural-urban locations. In the process of agrarian transformation, the availability of credit plays an important role in influencing land-leasing decisions. In fact, it is widely believed that the land rental market acts as an institution to adjust the differences in the access to rural credit (Jaynes, 1982; Eswan and Kotwal, 1989). The higher the extent of credit, greater is the extent of lease-in-land and vice versa. However, the effect of credit constraints on land leasing behaviour could be different under alternative tenurial arrangements (Narayan, 2001). An asset poor farmer can overcome a credit constraint by interlinking sharecropping contract with the provision of credit. In contrast, under the rental arrangement, the extent of lease in land is bound to decline with the credit constraint. Empirical literature exploring the impact of credit constraint on the leasing behaviour of the farmer households is relatively scanty. In a significant contribution to the existing literature, Kocher (1997) found that formal credit does not play so much an important role on land leasing decisions as the ownership of land does. The aggregative analysis as carried out by Kocher was criticised by Narayan (2001) on the ground that it fails to capture the differential role of credit in land leasing decisions under alternative tenurial contracts and suggested an alternative specification which can provide a rationale for the insignificant result of the role of credit in explaining leasing decisions. In fact, Narayan (2001) examined the role of credit on the nature of land leasing decision under alternative tenurial contracts in a disaggregated manner. It was postulated in the study that large farmers are more likely to enter into rental contracts and would therefore be less likely to lease in land if they are credit constrained while the marginal or small farmers would lease more land under sharecropping contracts if they were credit constrained. Empirically the proposition was verified and it was found that credit has a positive impact on land leasing decision for small farmers and a negative impact for large farmers. One of the

Talking Without Speaking, Hearing Without Listening?: Evictions, the UK Top Court and the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract: Assesses the responses of the House of Lords to jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights applying the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 art.8 in cases involving the recovery of possession of residential premises by public bodies to evaluate the approach of the Law Lords in establishing a dialogue with Strasbourg on the domestic implementation of human rights standards. Argues that the English courts have yet to develop an adequate conception of "home" in these cases. Applies a rights-based analysis of the rule whereby a joint tenant can unilaterally end a joint tenancy.

State of Origin: Queensland Crown Leasehold - lessons from New South Wales

Abstract: Throughout Australia freehold land interests are protected by statutory schemes which grant indefeasibility of title to registered interests. Queensland freehold land interests are protected by Torrens system established by the Land Title Act 1994. However, no such protection exists for Crown land interests. The extent of Queensland occupied under some form of Crown tenure, in excess of 70%, means that Queensland Crown land users are disadvantaged when compared to freehold land users. This article examines the role indefeasibility of title has in protecting interests in Crown land. A comparative analysis is undertaken between Queensland and New South Wales land management frameworks to determine whether interests in crown land are adequately protected in Queensland.

Virtual World, Virtual Land but Real Property

Abstract: Virtual worlds such as Second Life have become increasingly significant in terms of both time and money for their users. As such, it is important to analyse how the law may apply to and resolve disputes that originate in these virtual worlds. This article will focus on the virtual world Second Life, and in particular, the legal concept of land in Second Life which has come into the international legal limelight because of the Bragg litigation against Linden in the United States. Although the dispute was settled, the Bragg litigation raised the issue of the legal status of items in virtual worlds and whether these virtual items can indeed be recognised as property under the Western legal tradition. This is an issue separate from and independent of the question of intellectual property protection. This article will argue that land ownership in Second Life is very much like owning a modified form of leasehold property. Just like in the real world where more than one type of property right can subsist in a given item, this should also be the case in Second Life.

Rethinking the Intersection of Inheritance and the Law of Tenancy in Common

Abstract: The Article is about "identity property," which it defines as property that is strongly linked to one’s sense of self and family and is valued by its holder primarily for what it represents. Identity property is often jointly inherited by siblings or other relatives, who take as tenants in common. Standard doctrine relies on familial bonds and the unilateral right of partition to mitigate the problem of bilateral monopoly and to foster cooperation in the management of the tenants’ common resource. The Article argues that, in the context of identity property, this standard account is wrong. Rather, because the law favors partition by sale, the exit of one tenant often means that the remaining co-tenants will be forced to sell the identity property. Because the remaining tenants perceive the property as non-fungible, the threat of exit is powerful enough to exacerbate the bilateral monopoly and decrease the likelihood of cooperation. The Article relies on the example of the family cottage to elucidate the meaning of "identity property" and examines the formal agreements that relatives who jointly own cottages make when they decide to opt out of the tenancy in common default rules. These formal agreements reveal a willingness to sacrifice the right of exit in order to increase the odds that co-tenants will continue to own the identity property. The Article argues that the law should heed the message of these formal agreements and adopt a more flexible approach to the inheritance of identity property, including the possibilities of temporal partition and facilitated agreement.

Rethinking the Intersection of Inheritance and the Law of Tenancy in Common

Abstract: This Article is about "identity property," which it defines as property that is strongly linked to one's sense of self and family and is valued by its holder primarily for what it represents. Identity property is often jointly inherited by siblings or other relatives, who take as tenants in common. Standard doctrine relies on familial bonds and the unilateral right of partition to mitigate the problem of bilateral monopoly and to foster cooperation in the management of the tenants' common resource. The Article argues that, in the context of identity property, this standard account is wrong. Rather, because the law favors partition by sale, the exit of one tenant often means that the remaining cotenants will be forced to sell the identity property. Because the remaining tenants perceive the property as nonfungible, the threat of exit is powerful enough to exacerbate the bilateral monopoly and decrease the likelihood of cooperation. The Article relies on the example of the family cottage to elucidate the meaning of "identity property" and examines the formal agreements that relatives who jointly own cottages make when they decide to opt out of the tenancy in common default rules. These formal agreements reveal a willingness to sacrifice the right of exit in order to increase the odds that co-tenants will continue to own the identity property. The Article argues that the law should heed the message of these formal agreements and adopt a more flexible approach to the inheritance of identity property, including the possibilities of temporal partition and facilitated agreement. INTRODUCTION I. A REPRISE OF TENANCY IN COMMON LAW A. The Law as Applied to Inherited Identity Property 1. Family Cottages 2. Tenancy in Common Law in Action B. Tenancy in Common Opt Out II. THE CONSEQUENCE FOR PROPERTY LAW III. TREATING IDENTITY PROPERTY DIFFERENTLY A. Temporal Partition B. Facilitated Agreement CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION Property textbooks are full of legal doctrines that were once important but now merit little more than an historical footnote--the fee tail, the Rule in Shelley's Case, the destructibility of contingent remainders. This Article suggests that tenancy in common, while not yet passe, is no longer as robust as it once was. No one with legal sophistication who wishes to jointly own property opts for a co-tenancy. Instead they form limited liability corporations, limited partnerships, or trusts. Most modern tenancies in common, in contrast, occur accidentally through the confluence of default property rules and poor estate planning. Often the property that is the subject of these accidental tenancies is extraordinarily dear to both the testator and the heirs. The accidental nature of many tenancies in common, coupled with the kind of property involved, should prompt an overhaul of our approach to this ancient form of ownership. Margaret Radin famously wrote that there is a relationship between property and personhood. That is, "[m]ost people possess certain objects they feel are almost part of themselves." (1) In Radin's formulation, such objects are "bound up with the holder" (2) and essential to the self; the loss of these objects harms the individual and interferes with the ability to flourish and develop. As Stephanie Stern has recently argued, emerging social science has called into doubt the extent to which any one piece of property can be essential to the self. (3) As such, this Article does not rely on Radin's "personhood" terminology and instead refers to the inherited property with which it is concerned as "identity property." (4) "Identity property" is Radin's personhood property ratcheted down. Identity property is closely linked to one's sense of self and family and is valued primarily for what it signifies and embodies, not for its economic worth. As with Radin's "personhood property," identity property is nonfungible and thus cannot be replaced even by a mostly identical item with the same market value. …

Determinants of the Choice of Agricultural Tenancy Contracts in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract: Participation in the informal land market by farmers is always common in land scarce rural Bangladesh in response to failure of implementation of administratively based land reform system to meet increasing demand for cultivable land and to minimize discrepancy in distribution of factors at the farm level The objective of the present study is to jointly determine the socio-economic factors underlying decision to lease-in or lease-out land and conditional on these decisions, tenant-land lord's choice of accepting and offering of share versus fixed rent contracts in rural Bangladesh agriculture The focus is on the risk averseness and moral hazard problem for tenant land lord respectively An empirical model of contract choice for both parties (tenants and land lords) is compared against a data set from a sample survey of IRRI and finds a mixed evidence of risk averseness among tenants and moral hazard problem among land lords However, we find attributes of the land lord plays more important part to offer either a sharecropping contract or fixed rent contract than tenant's attributes to choose a contract between two alternatives This indicates a monopoly power of land lords in Bangladesh in the informal tenancy market

Do Auctions and Forced Divestitures increase Competition

Abstract: This discussion paper resulted in an article in the 'Journal of Industrial Economics' (2014). Volume 62, issue 3, pages 467-502. To foster competition, governments can intervene by auctioning licenses to operate, or by imposing divestitures. The Dutch government has done exactly that, organizing auctions to redistribute tenancy rights for highway gasoline stations and imposing divestitures of such stations on the four major companies. We evaluate this policy experiment and find that the auctioning of licenses without an obligation to divest has no discernible effect on prices. An obligation to divest lowers prices by 1.3–2.3% at divested sites. Moreover, prices decrease by 0.9–1.2% at sites nearby. This suggests that the observed price decreases are at least partly due to competitive spillovers.

The Social Economy - Key Element of Sustainable Environmental and Societal Development in Asia

Abstract: Cooperatives, associations, partnerships, non-profit organizations (NPOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are core elements of the Social Economy. Social Economy as an economic and societal development approach could support the sustainable rural and environmental management in South East Asian countries. Examples for Social Economy enterprises are microlending institutions, fishing and rice cooperatives in Vietnam and Thailand, pepper and pottery associations in Cambodia or rural and small scale industry commodities and service associations. The Social Economy needs just and equal distribution of property, but also innovative property tax collection models in order to guarantee sustainable financial support by the governments. The implementation faces several challenges. Existing private property or leasehold rights and large agricultural investment funds could lead to the exclusion of small and medium landowners, family- based farmers and to a lack of institutional support from higher political levels. A system combining different forms of public and private property and good land governance may be the means to bridge the gap between the private right to acquire natural resources and the needs of the Social Economy. The division of agricultural land, natural commodities and the means of production in a comprehensive and equal way between the people is of fundamental importance for the Asian states.

On the existence of sharecropping

Abstract: When tenancy contracts are subject to ex-post limited liability, it is optimal for the landlord to offer the tenant the entire crop share since full incentive leads to higher production even in the bad state of the nature, which can be appropriated in the form of fixed rental payments. We show, in a simple model of incentive contracts where the tenant carries out multiple tasks, that effort substitution effect helps explain share tenancy even if there is limited liability in the ex-post sense.