Impact of land tenure insecurity on investment : evidence from northern Uganda

It has been commonly argued that the emergence of land titles is a prerequisite for microeconomic growth as it creates incentives for investment in the land. This paper examines the link between the prolonged military conflict, the emergence of land titles, and investment in the land by planting permanent crops in the context of Gulu and Oyam Districts, northern Uganda. Given the history of prolonged military activities in the region, the emergence of land titling alone is not sufficient to promote microeconomic growth because of institutional limitations that create distortions in the land titling system and spur tenure insecurity. By comparing northern Uganda with other post-conflict societies in Africa, we emphasize the need for an intervention that can address the existing tenure insecurity and spur land investment by the rural households.