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A Difficult Question In Deed: A Cost-Benefit Framework For Titling Programs, Jean O. Lanjouw, Philip Levy

William & Mary Law Review

In this Article we explore the potential benefits and costs of a program to grant title to individuals who are occupying land informally. Only some of these benefits and costs have received careful empirical consideration in the literature. This Article references existing studies and draws on findings from original surveys of urban households in Ecuador. We consider how a titling program might affect the welfare of landowners and occupants, how it could alter the functioning of real estate markets, and whether it could build a community's social capital. Potential benefits must be weighed against a range of costs, including those …