Entitled to progress

Abstract: This paper intends to test the effects of improved property rights on the living situation for families in peripheral areas in Lima, Peru. The purpose of the study is to identify the mechanisms by which titling programs affect the quality of life for urban poor. The study focuses on access to credit, housing quality and allocation of labor. A survey was carried out in poor neighborhoods in Lima to be able to econometrically test the relation between the possession of a property title and a number of dependent variables related to the focus areas. Although the result in some cases varies depending on income levels and gender, it indicates that improved quality of housing and more efficient allocation of labor as mechanisms by which property rights can potentially improve the lives of the urban poor. However, little support can be found of improvement of the access to credit as an effect of the titling program.