The Nature of Property Rights in Haiti: Mode of Land Acquisition, Gender, and Investment

Abstract:

In Haiti, two primary pathways to land ownership are through the purchase of land and through inheritance. In terms of inheritance, intestate law treats daughters and sons equally with respect to real property. Despite the formal law, we find that women are relatively less tenure secure on their inherited land than men. In contrast, men and women share similar perceptions of tenure security on purchased land. These differences become manifest in conservation investment activities: tree planting, fallowing, and terracing. We find evidence that these activities are less likely to occur by female respondents on their inherited land.

Keywords::

• gender
• Haiti
• inherited land
• land tenure

JEL Classification Codes::

• K11
• O13
• O17
• Q15
• Q24

Notes

1 These arguments are addressed by a large literature, but discussion of these points can be found in Field (2007), Deininger and Jin (2006), De Soto (2003), and Besley (1995). Importantly, empirical research has not always confirmed the theoretical intuition. See, for example, Fenske (2011) and Deininger and Jin (2006) for discussion of this literature and empirical difficulties associated with the assessment of tenure insecurity and economic outcomes.

2 De facto rights are property rights that exist in practice but are not ordained by law.

3 De jure rights are property rights that exist because of formal law and are backed by a central authority.

4 Intestacy refers to a situation where a person dies without having made a valid will. In the case of an intestate death, the division of the deceased’s estate is determined by formal law.

5 One of the authors conducted the survey in Haiti.

6 Importantly, purchase does not imply a formally recognized exchange or the transfer of title. Hereafter “purchased” characterizes land that has been exchanged for payment.

7 Irina Ahmed, B. James Deaton, Rakhal Sarker, and Tasneem Virani (2008), provide a comprehensive assessment of the empirical literature that references the framework.

8 The Republic of Haiti is the official name of the country but will be referred to as Haiti for the remainder of this article.

9 The term cadastre refers to a comprehensive registry of a country’s land. Information on ownership, tenure, location (GPS), size, dimensions, and value may be included in a cadastre. Cadastres are used around the world and often in conjunction with other records systems, such as a land title registry.

10 INARA refers to the Institut National de la Réforme Agraire or the National Institute for Agrarian Reform. This institute is the primary government agency concerned with reforming the country’s land tenure system.

11 The Haitian Civil Code is closely modeled on the French Napoleonic Civil Code and was first introduced in 1825 and is the principal source of property law in Haiti.

12 The Haitian Rural Code was first introduced in 1962 by François Duvalier and is strictly concerned with rural activities.

13 Usufruct refers to the right to use and enjoy the fruits or profits of something belonging to another.

14 Ellickson (1991) demonstrates that people largely govern themselves by means of informal rules—social norms—that develop without the aid of a state.

15 The Civil Code of Haiti makes a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. An illegitimate child refers to a child born outside of marriage who has not been formally recognized by the father.

16 In the United States this property is commonly referred to as heir property or land in heirs.

17 There are other pathways such as “usufruct” rights or “gifts.”

18 A locality is equivalent to a village. A locality can range from a few dozen households to several hundred households. The eight localities included in our study are: Nan Sous, Coupeal, Bois Dombas, Vieparc, Port-au-Ciel, Terre Sale 1, Lamare, and Bankamari.

19 Pre-testing resulted in the addition of two new questions to the survey. One question addressed the issue of the respondent’s education and the other gathered additional information about the origin of the land they purchased. In addition, we altered the way we asked respondents about investments. Specifically, we found that respondents appeared more comfortable answering questions about the frequency of investments—e.g., how often they planted trees—rather than yes/no questions about whether they planted trees. These changes were added to the pre-tested survey in the field and translated into Creole in the interview process.

20 Proportional, also referred to as stratified sampling, involves dividing the population into several mutually exclusive subpopulations (strata) and taking a random sample from each. The size of the sample obtained from each stratum is based on its relative size compared to the other strata. Each locality included in our study is considered as a separate stratum.

21 Exclusion rights refer to the right to determine who can and who cannot use a resource (i.e. determine access).

22 Alienation rights refer to the right to sell, rent, lease, bequeath, or transfer ownership of a resource.

23 The variable describing inherited land includes parcels identified by the respondent as inherited and inherited parcels that the respondent views as taken by a non-family member or a family member.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Liam D. Kelly

Liam D. Kelly is a PhD candidate in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), B. James Deaton is a Professor and the McCain Family Chair in Food Security in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph, and J. Atsu Amegashie is a Professor in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Guelph. The authors thank the McCain Family Chair and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for funding support. In addition, this project would not have been possible without the countless people who helped them to better understand the situation in Haiti and made their time there meaningful. The authors are deeply grateful to Donacien Azelin, Pastor Aerius, the Gilles Family, the Laurent Family, the Clerveaux Family, and the many people that took the time to speak with them and share their experiences.

B. James Deaton

Liam D. Kelly is a PhD candidate in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), B. James Deaton is a Professor and the McCain Family Chair in Food Security in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph, and J. Atsu Amegashie is a Professor in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Guelph. The authors thank the McCain Family Chair and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for funding support. In addition, this project would not have been possible without the countless people who helped them to better understand the situation in Haiti and made their time there meaningful. The authors are deeply grateful to Donacien Azelin, Pastor Aerius, the Gilles Family, the Laurent Family, the Clerveaux Family, and the many people that took the time to speak with them and share their experiences.

J. Atsu Amegashie

Liam D. Kelly is a PhD candidate in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), B. James Deaton is a Professor and the McCain Family Chair in Food Security in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph, and J. Atsu Amegashie is a Professor in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Guelph. The authors thank the McCain Family Chair and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for funding support. In addition, this project would not have been possible without the countless people who helped them to better understand the situation in Haiti and made their time there meaningful. The authors are deeply grateful to Donacien Azelin, Pastor Aerius, the Gilles Family, the Laurent Family, the Clerveaux Family, and the many people that took the time to speak with them and share their experiences.