Exploring efficiency and equity in modes of land rights acquisition under customary tenure systems: Evidence from smallholder farmers in Malawi
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[1] KDI School of Public Policy and Management, 263 Namsejong-ro, Sejong-si 30149, Republic of Korea
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- Localización: Land use policy: The International Journal Covering All Aspects of Land Use, ISSN 0264-8377, ISSN-e 1873-5754, Nº. 160, 2026
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
This study investigates whether customary land tenure systems in Malawi support efficient and equitable access to farmland among smallholder households. While customary tenure remains the dominant form of landholding in many sub-Saharan African countries, it is unclear how different acquisition pathways, such as inheritance, acquisition through traditional leaders, rental, and purchase, perform regarding productivity and inclusive access. Using nationally representative data from the Integrated Household Panel Surveys (IHPSs) of 2010, 2013 and 2016, the study estimates farming ability through a Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier model and examines its association with tenure participation using logistic regression. The results indicate that higher farming ability is significantly associated with greater acquisition of land rights through rental and sales markets but negatively associated with acquisition through inheritance.Farmland allocated by chiefs shows a weak positive correlation with farming ability. These findings suggest that while inheritance remains widespread, it may constrain productive land use. In contrast, land acquired through chiefs or market-based mechanisms may better align with farming capacity. The study contributes empirical evidence on the internal functioning of customary tenure systems and raises important considerations for land policy reforms that balance social equity with agricultural efficiency.
