(De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Land Tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa

16 Pages Posted: 13 Apr 2023

See all articles by Emilio Depetris-Chauvin

Emilio Depetris-Chauvin

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Ömer Özak

Southern Methodist University - Department of Economics; IZA; Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 30, 2023

Abstract

We study the role of proximity to historical ethnic borders in determining individual land ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following an instrumental variable strategy, we document that individuals have a lower likelihood of owning land near historical ethnic borders. In particular, the likelihood of owning land decreases by 15 percentage points, i.e., about 1/3 of the mean rate of landownership, for rural migrants who move from 57km (90th percentile) to 2 km (10th percentile) from the border. This result aligns with the view that competition for land is stronger and property rights are weaker close to historical ethnic borders in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: Land ownership, Borders, Property Rights, Historical Homelands, Development, Africa, Voronoi Tessellation, Thiessen Tessellation

JEL Classification: D74, N57, O13, O17, O43, P48, Q15, Q34

Suggested Citation

Depetris-Chauvin, Emilio and Özak, Ömer, (De facto) Historical Ethnic Borders and Land Tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa (March 30, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4405298 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4405298

Emilio Depetris-Chauvin

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile ( email )

Vicuna Mackenna 4860
Santiago, 99999
Chile

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/emiliodepetrischauvin/home

Ömer Özak (Contact Author)

Southern Methodist University - Department of Economics ( email )

Dallas, TX 75275
United States
+1-214-768-2755 (Phone)
+1-214-768-1821 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://omerozak.com

IZA

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Collogne
Germany

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