Institutions and land reform: Lessons from land redistribution policy in post-apartheid South Africa

Partridge, Andrew

Land reform policy in South Africa since 1994 has been unable to achieve its desired targets. This comes about despite land reform continually taking up a central position in policy. Whilst there are numerous reasons as to why this may be the case, there are a few specific institutional barriers which are seriously hindering progress in terms of reaching land reform goals. Using theory derived from the relatively recent New Institutional Economics sub discipline together with empirical studies on land reform in South Africa, the countryys land reform policy is put under the microscope and the five biggest barriers to progress are identified. These barriers are market failures undermining the willing buyer, willing seller requirement for land transactions, conflicting agendas in the policy setting process, monetary instability, barriers to land subdivision and finally the lack of post-transfer support for farmers. Whist this list is not exhaustive, it identifies the areas which have the potential to unlock the greatest progress if they can be overcome. These issues need to be considered if land reform progress is to be brought in line with desired outcomes. It also provides key lessons for policy makers working on land reform in other countries and regions.

Document type:Institutions and land reform: Lessons from land redistribution policy in post-apartheid South Africa (963 kB - pdf)