Hailemariam Ayalew Tiruneh, Department of Economics

"Tenure Security and Poverty Dynamics: Evidence from Ethiopia"

Abstract

Using the 2004 land title certification program as an exogenous policy intervention, this paper examines the impact of land tenure security on poverty dynamics in rural Ethiopia. We have exploited the variation in the timing of certification between treated and control groups using the standard Difference-in-Difference (DID) approach. Estimates from binary and continuous treatment duration models point out the existence of a significant role of land tenure security on rural poverty reduction in Ethiopia. Households, who have got certified before the last agricultural season in the sample period, are found to have a higher probability of moving out of poverty. Continuous treatment duration model, which only analyze treated households, also indicate a similar effect on household's poverty dynamics. Earlier certified households are found to have a higher probability of moving out of poverty.