81318 enGender Impact: The World Bank’s Gender Impact Evaluation Database Environmental and Gender Impacts of Land Tenure Regularization in Africa: Pilot Evidence from Rwanda Author(s) Daniel Ayalew Ali, Klaus Deininger, Markus Goldstein Contact mgoldstein@worldbank.org Country Rwanda Organizing Theme Economic Opportunities and Access to Assets Status Final paper under revision Intervention Category Land Rights Sector Agriculture and Rural Development Although increased global demand for land has led to renewed interest in African land tenure, few models to address these issues quickly and at the required scale have been identified or evaluated. The case of Rwanda's nation-wide and relatively low-cost land tenure regularization program is thus of great interest. This paper evaluates the short-term impact (some 2.5 years after completion) of the pilots undertaken to fine-tune the approach using a geographic discontinuity design with spatial fixed effects. Three key findings emerge from the analysis. First, the program improved land access for legally married women (about 76 percent of married couples) and prompted better recordation of Abstract inheritance rights without gender bias. Second, the analysis finds a very large impact on investment and maintenance of soil conservation measures. This effect was particularly pronounced for female headed households, suggesting that this group had suffered from high levels of tenure insecurity, which the program managed to reduce. Third, land market activity declined, allowing rejection of the hypothesis that the program caused a wave of distress sales or widespread landlessness by vulnerable people. Implications for program design and policy are discussed. Gender Connection Gender Focused Intervention Gender Outcomes Women's property, investment IE Design Regression Discontinuity Design The Land Policy of 2004 and the subsequent Organic Land Law of 2005 provided the legal infrastructure for the formalization of land that was previously held under "customary" law. The National Land Tenure Regularization Program was tasked creating the full legal Intervention recognition of rights to land. The program trained local surveyors who conducted land demarcation in the field to identify parcel boundaries and provided a formal body to recognized and settle disputes. Intervention Period 2007-2008 The program was piloted in 4 cells that represent typical situations encountered throughout Sample population the country. 3554 households with 6330 land parcels were sampled from both sides of the boundaries of the four pilot cells. Last updated: 14 August 2013 1 enGender Impact: The World Bank’s Gender Impact Evaluation Database The study compares households inside the treated cells to similar households just outside Comparison conditions the cells. Unit of analysis Household Level Evaluation Period This study is a 2.5 year follow up The impact on self-reported expropriation risk is negative (leading to lower expropriation risk) but the impact is not significant. However, there is evidence of behavior change that is consistent with lengthening of time horizons; for example, treated households increase soil conservation investments 10% more than the control group. The program led to a 17 p.p. Results increase female documented land rights for married couples. Non-married women have only an 8 p.p. increase in land rights compared to the control group. The program also leads to a significant reduction in succession-related uncertainty with respect to inheritance rights. There is not evidence that the program leads to households selling off their land. Primary study limitations There was no baseline survey conducted. Funding Source Gender Innovation Lab Ali, D. A., Deininger, K., & Goldstein, M. (2011). Environmental and gender impacts of Reference(s) land tenure regularization in Africa: pilot evidence from Rwanda. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series, No 5765 Link to Studies http://elibrary.worldbank.org/content/workingpaper/10.1596/1813-9450-5765 Microdata Last updated: 14 August 2013 2