Abstract:
The aim of this dissertation is to provide a theoretical and empirical analysis of selected issues of the land tenure systems in the highlands of Eritrea. The dissertation consists of four papers.

Paper one presents an analysis of the land rental market (LRM) with particular emphasis on the rationale for household participation in the LRM, and to what degree LRM participation compensates for imperfections in other markets. The analysis is undertaken by estimating the net land leased using the total household sample, and separately for net leasers using a two stage approach.

Paper two characterizes and analyses the choice of land lease contracts using ordered Probit on an unmatched plot level data separately for land lords and tenants. Paper three presents an analysis of the effect of land tenure security on investments in short and long term inputs, and on land productivity. A distinction is made between the incidence and intensity of investment.

Paper four analyses the effect of land lease contract types on the intensity of land use and on land productivity using censored Tobit and least absolute deviation (LAD) models.

Key words: Land tenure contracts, market imperfections, land tenure security, investment, econometrics.

The dissertation was handed to the committee in May 2003, and sucessfully defended August 29, 2003. Professor Stein Holden was the advisor for this dissertation.

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Mahari Okbasillassie Tikabo was born in Asmara, Eritrea, in 1967. He previously holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from the University of Asmara, Eritrea (1988), a Master of Arts degree in Agricultural and Rural Development from ISS (1993), and a postgraduate certificate in Agricultural and Development Economics from University of California, Davis (2000).