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Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Women, Land & Justice In Tanzania (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman
Women, Land & Justice In Tanzania (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
Among the many debates surrounding land in Africa, one that has endured through both colonization and independence is the argument over the merits of preserving customary land law. Human rights based approaches to property rights in Sub-Saharan Africa note women’s secondary or derivative rights to land under customary law, correctly identifying inequalities in rules and practice. Communitarian approaches, on the other hand, address the adaptability and accessibility of land regimes defined by customary law. This book contributes to the debates on women, land and law and, while it will be frustrating to some as it does not take a side …
Property: Human Right Or Commodity?, Sandra F. Joireman, Jason Brown
Property: Human Right Or Commodity?, Sandra F. Joireman, Jason Brown
Political Science Faculty Publications
There is currently in international law an overstatement of the tie between property and identity. International conventions have folded property into a set of immutable human rights. There needs to be greater flexibility and nuance in this perspective. In this paper we identify two approaches to property rights: the first, which argues that property and identity are necessarily bundled together and considers property to be a human right; and the second which understands them as explicitly separate and views property as a commodity. Empirically, we observe a transition between these two competing ideas. We posit that this transition happens voluntarily, …
A Different Way Home: Resettlement Patterns In Northern Uganda, Sandra F. Joireman, Adam Sawyer, Juliana Wilhoit
A Different Way Home: Resettlement Patterns In Northern Uganda, Sandra F. Joireman, Adam Sawyer, Juliana Wilhoit
Political Science Faculty Publications
After decades of civil conflict leading to massive internal displacement of people, Northern Uganda is peaceful again and hundreds of thousands of displaced people have returned to the area. Using data from maps and satellite imagery, we examine the placement of homes before, during and after the conflict. Examining two study sites, one that experienced a great deal of violence over an extended period of time and one where the experience of violence was more limited, we observe the clustering of home placement in the post-conflict period. As resettlement occurs, there is also evidence of increased location of homes in …
Still Hungry (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman
Still Hungry (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
While I was conducting a research project on property rights in southern Ethiopia in 1994, I watched truck after truck roll into the community to distribute food aid. I asked a local farmer if the harvest had been bad. He assured me of his abundant harvest of tomatoes and onions—cash crops that he normally couldn't plant because he had to focus on feeding his family. However, he explained, with all the food aid they were now getting, he did not have to worry about feeding his family, so he could use his land to make some extra cash—and his family …
The Mystery Of Capital Formation In Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights And Customary Law, Sandra F. Joireman
The Mystery Of Capital Formation In Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights And Customary Law, Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
Economists such as Hernando De Soto have argued that clearly defined property rights are essential to capital formation and ultimately to economic growth and poverty alleviation. This article traces two impediments to the clear definition of property rights in the African context: customary law and the status of women. Both of these issues interfere with the attempt of African countries to rearticulate property law with the goal of capital formation. Constructive attempts to define property rights must address the problem of enforcement in under-resourced environments where changes may not be welcomed.
Enforcing New Property Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ugandan Constitution And The 1998 Land Act, Sandra F. Joireman
Enforcing New Property Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ugandan Constitution And The 1998 Land Act, Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
A convincing case has been made in both academic studies and policy circles for clearly defined private property rights as a means to economic development. Perhaps best characterized by the recent work of Hernando De Soto, well-defined private property rights are thought to be critical not just for economic growth, but also as tool to alleviate poverty. The argument that the poor have capital that need only be put to efficient use through the creation of institutional structures that will allow them to access it is compelling. De Soto's work follows decades of policy advice provided by the international financial …
An Unholy Trinity: Aids, Poverty And Insecure Property Rights For Women In Africa, Sandra F. Joireman
An Unholy Trinity: Aids, Poverty And Insecure Property Rights For Women In Africa, Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
Women in Africa have long had insecure rights to both moveable and immoveable property due to the coexistence of customary and statutory law, lack of clarity and poor enforcement of the formal rights to property that exist. Insecure property rights for women are most evident in the case of divorce or the death of a spouse when a woman loses access to land and household assets. This paper examines the issues of poverty, HIV/AIDS and property rights in the area where they intersect most vividly, women’s lives and livelihoods. The gendered nature of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa is analyzed …
Property Rights And The Role Of The State: Evidence From The Horn Of Africa, Sandra F. Joireman
Property Rights And The Role Of The State: Evidence From The Horn Of Africa, Sandra F. Joireman
Political Science Faculty Publications
This study applies extant theories of property rights change to three land tenure systems in Imperial Ethiopia. Two of the areas underwent changes in property rights after experiencing changes in the value of land; one did not. A data set of litigation over land rights is used in conjunction with case studies to understand the mechanisms motivating or impeding property rights change. Amendments to the role of the state are suggested and two conclusions are reached: (1) that movement towards greater specificity of land rights did not always occur; and (2) the changes in property rights that occurred were imposed …