Poverty reduction through land titling : A study about the economic effects of the Malawi national land policy

Abstract: Access to land is vital for providing our basic needs. According to earlier research, private landtitles are a prerequisite for secure land rights and are vital for enabling sustainable economicgrowth and poverty reduction. In Malawi, where a majority of the land is customary, newlaws have been enacted, but not yet implemented. The new laws allow registration ofcustomary land into private land, i.e. land titling. This bachelor thesis investigates the possibleeconomic effects of land titling in Malawi based on earlier research and on the views ofMalawian stakeholders. It was found that the World Bank states that land titling will lead toincreased investments and improved productivity; increased credits access with lowerinterest rate; increased liquidity on transaction markets; increased access to rental market;increased mobility; increased gender equality and decentralization of power. Even though thecultural practices in Malawi partly collide with the privatization of customary land, thestakeholders generally agree with the effects described by the World Bank. It is difficult topredict the effects of the new laws as it depends on various factors. However, land titling willsurely lead to increased tenure security, which inherently is valuable for the landowners.