Search Results (28)

Across the Global South, heightened contestation over rural land has placed land administration at the centre of policy debates, particularly where mismatches between official land records and lived realities generate disputes, exclusion, and limited access to welfare and compensation. In India, these challenges are shaped by colonial cadastral legacies, fragmented institutional arrangements, and rapidly changing rural and peri-urban landscapes. While digitization of land records is widely promoted as a solution to improve transparency and efficiency, reforms implemented without meaningful community participation risk reproducing existing inequalities in more rigid and legally entrenched forms. This article examines the limits of digitization-led land reforms in India and explores how decentralized and community-engaged governance approaches can strengthen land administration. Focusing on two case-study regions in Western India—Talasari and Chiplun in Maharashtra—the study draws on qualitative field research conducted between December 2024 and October 2025, including Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), institutional process-mapping, and analysis of land administration procedures across multiple departments. The combination of field-based evidence and process-mapping enables a grounded analysis of institutional coordination, governance bottlenecks, and the relationship between formal land records and customary tenure practices. The findings show that digitization without community-engaged implementation processes often reproduces inaccuracies and governance gaps rather than resolving longstanding structural problems. Outdated cadastral records, fragmented institutional arrangements, and weak coordination between departments continue to intensify exclusions, tenure insecurity, and administrative fragmentation. The article therefore argues that strengthening land governance requires hybrid and decentralized approaches that integrate statutory and customary systems through co-governance and community participation. These findings have important policy implications for ongoing reforms such as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) and the Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA), highlighting the need to align digitization initiatives with local tenure realities, participatory governance, and stronger institutional coordination. Full article

In this study, we draw on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and career stage theory to examine how faculty appointment type is linked to research satisfaction in China’s dual-track academic system. Survey data from 359 faculty members at two comparable public research universities show that tenure-track faculty report higher research productivity but lower research satisfaction than their counterparts in officially budgeted posts. Research productivity partially mediates this relationship but does not fully offset the pressures associated with performance-based appointments. Career tenure also does not significantly moderate this relationship, suggesting that standardised evaluation regimes may weaken expected career-stage differences. These findings reveal a misalignment between measurable performance and academic well-being in productivity-oriented employment systems. From a faculty sustainability perspective, the results underscore the need for governance arrangements that balance research expectations with conditions that sustain long-term academic well-being. Full article

South Africa’s land reform program is a cornerstone of efforts to redress historical injustices, guided by the 1997 White Paper on Land Reform Policy and structured around restitution, redistribution, and tenure reform. Three decades into implementation, this study systematically reviews the policy performance from 1994 to 2024, focusing on these pillars and related governance measures. Despite repeated policy revisions and extensive public debate, significant gaps persist between objectives, such as equitable access, tenure security, and poverty reduction—and actual outcomes. Using PRISMA guidelines, 94 peer-reviewed articles were selected from Scopus (1994–2024) alongside key policy documents and official reports. Evidence shows that land reform has consistently fallen short of its targets. Restitution claims remain largely cash-based, undermining tenure security, while redistribution has transferred less than 14% of agricultural land, far below the 30% target. Beneficiaries under the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) often hold insecure lease agreements, and most households in former homelands lack title deeds, perpetuating vulnerability. The weak institutional capacity, poor coordination, and inadequate post-settlement support further constrain progress. The review concludes that the most fundamental policy priority is establishing a unified national framework that guarantees secure land tenure through the issuance of title deeds, complemented by integrated post-settlement support and transparent beneficiary selection. Strengthening tenure security is essential for enabling investment, improving livelihoods, and achieving equitable and sustainable land reform. Full article

Although forest tenure devolution has been widely implemented, limited research has examined the carbon sequestration effects of property rights, particularly the interactions among rights within the tenure bundle. This research quantifies the structure of forest tenure at the village level over a 20-year period (2000–2019) and links it with village-year satellite observations of forest carbon sequestration. Using two-way fixed effects regression, interaction effect models, and mediation analysis, the research examines the carbon responses to devolved forest tenure, with particular attention to the interactions among tenure rights and the heterogeneity across forest types. Empirical results indicate that the logging right constitutes the core component of the tenure bundle that promotes carbon sequestration in mature forests and shrublands. When the logging right was completely absent, the impact of ownership on carbon sequestration became insignificant. Tenure rights bundles interact significantly in shaping carbon sequestration outcomes in mature forests. Specifically, longer tenure duration reinforces the effects of ownership and logging rights, whereas transferability tends to substitute for their returns. In terms of young plantations, only official certification of ownership would promote their carbon sequestration and there are no interaction impacts between rights. Further analyses combining farmer behavior find that the reduction in logging intensity, rather than frequency, is a significant channel for logging rights to promote carbon sequestration of mature stands. Ownership increases the frequency but the intensity of afforestation/reforestation, which in turn increases carbon sequestration of young plantations. Full article

Urban agriculture (UA) is a longstanding practice in African cities, characterized by some distinctive features. In particular, the amount of land devoted to UA in these cities exceeds that used in Western countries, presenting challenges in areas such as land tenure. Beyond land tenure, UA also intersects with significant health concerns, as it contributes to food security, nutrition, and urban environmental health. However, the literature highlights a gap: urban planners in Africa often show limited interest in the connection between UA and health, despite its significance. This article addresses this gap by bringing together perspectives from architects, urban planners, geographers, economists, and sociologists to explore the links between human health and UA. The experts’ points of view are contrasted with ideas drawn from surveys of urban farmers in Greater Lomé, Togo, and official urban planning documents. Methodologically, 11 experts were selected in Greater Lomé and interviewed virtually via Zoom 5.6.6, and their audio files were anonymized, transcribed, and manually coded. According to the experts, the impacts of UA practices on human health and the built environment in Greater Lomé are mixed. This study’s key findings reveal that urban farmers identify a variety of challenges, including health-related difficulties, while experts tend to assume different health concerns, highlighting a disconnect between the two perspectives. The authors recommend developing joint planning guides in collaboration with experts from various fields in the cities concerned, in order to recognize local knowledge and integrate the perspectives of urban farmers into UA policies. Full article

Cities in West Africa have master and local plans to plan and guide land use and prevent urban sprawl. However, their spatial growth is not in line with the principles and indicators of harmonious development. To what extent has the spatial growth of these cities been shaped by urban development plans? This article assesses the ability of master and local plans to guide and frame urban development in Ho in Ghana and Kpalimé in Togo, using compliance and performance approaches. Combining interviews with municipal and traditional authorities, statutory land administration officials, and urban planners, this study finds that urban development in Ho has an average compliance rate of between 54% and 72%, compared to a rate of between 13% and 24% in Kpalimé. In terms of performance, Ho’s local plans outperform Kpalimé’s master plans. The master plans influence the plans below Ho, which is not the case in Kpalimé, where there is no link between the plans. The moderate performance of Ho and the poor performance of Kpalimé can be explained by several factors, such as the non-participatory approach to planning, the land tenure system, the lack of political support, and the lack of human and financial resources. Full article

In the era of the digital economy (DE), technology factors and data factors, like a two-wheel drive, have not only redefined the mode of production but also innovatively reshaped production relations. To examine how the DE can ensure food security (FS) in China, this study explores the negative impacts of land resource mismatch (LRM) on FS, the mechanisms of the impacts, and the critical role played by the DE in mitigating its negative impacts, based on China’s provincial-level panel data from 2011 to 2022. This study finds that, first, LRM leads to a reduction in food production, which, in turn, threatens FS, and this conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests. Second, the heterogeneity analysis finds that LRM has a greater negative impact on FS in regions with high urbanization levels, regions with a short tenure of officials, and regions that are not major food-producing regions. Finally, in a further analysis, the specific channels and solution paths of the negative impact of LRM on FS are explored in depth. LRM negatively affects the material base and production capacity of food production, including reducing the supply of land, labor, and capital factors for food production; the DE reduces the negative impact of LRM on FS through the use of digital technology and open government data. Full article

The personality traits of top judo referees are crucial for fair decision-making in elite competitions, shaping the experience for athletes, coaches, and spectators. This study examines potential differences in personality traits among 63 referees from the World Judo Tour between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022. Factors analyzed include completing the IJF Academy course Level 1, elite athlete status, number of officiated events, performance ratings, and participation in the Olympic or Paralympic Games. Our research shows that older referees tend to exhibit greater extraversion, whereas less experienced officials show lower levels of this trait. Referees with limited experience generally demonstrate higher agreeableness than their more experienced counterparts. Female referees and those with top performance ratings display greater conscientiousness than male referees. Completing the IJF Academy course is associated with lower neuroticism, while lower performance ratings are linked to higher neuroticism. Openness tends to decrease with increased officiating experience, with less experienced referees showing higher levels of this trait. In conclusion, competitive experience, training completion, and officiating tenure are associated with specific personality traits among judo referees, highlighting the importance of continuous training for effective officiating. The analysis of personality traits revealed no statistically significant differences between male and female referees in the dimensions measured by the BFI (Big Five Inventory). This indicates that the levels of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness were similar for both genders, with no significant variation in how these traits were expressed. Full article

Pesticide residues in food pose significant risks to public health and have long been a major concern in Chinese cities. The management of these risks is influenced by various factors, including the characteristics of responsible officials. This study tests the relationship between the levels of pesticide residues and the responsible officials’ interdisciplinary backgrounds and their tenure cycles, which is crucial for improving food safety governance in Chinese cities. Based on wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and data from 32 Chinese cities, it was found that the interdisciplinary backgrounds of officials had a significant negative relationship with urban pesticide residues in wastewater, indicating that the interdisciplinary knowledge background or working experience of officials in food safety-related agencies was associated with the supervision and control of urban pesticide residues. This study also generated evidence-based knowledge on how to improve food safety through assigning younger and interdisciplinary officials to the responsible governmental agencies, where WBE is more likely to be adopted. Full article

This study examines how political career incentives drive city leaders to strategically lease land to the service and industrial sectors within their terms of office and trigger political circles in land supply. Drawing on a comprehensive panel dataset covering 284 cities in China from 2006 to 2020, the results of panel regressions reveal a U-shaped correlation between mayors’ tenure in office and the quantity and proportion of land leased to the service sector for the 2006–2013 period, when economic growth was the overwhelming indicator of political performance. Newly appointed mayors are more motivated to stimulate long-term economic growth and supply more land to the industrial sector. As their tenure in office increases, mayors become less concerned with maximizing long-term economic growth and opt to lease more land to the service sector for immediate one-off proceeds. However, the U-shaped relationship has disappeared since 2013, when the cadre evaluation system was amended to prohibit using GDP growth as the primary criterion for evaluating local officials’ performance. Full article

Building digital government is an important means for the government to improve the public service ability and optimize the business environment, which directly affects the production and operation activities of micro-enterprises. Based on the panel data of listed enterprises and municipal government portal website performance in China, this paper empirically investigates the impact of digital government development on enterprise total factor productivity (TFP) and the moderating effect of the local government’s attention distribution. The research results showed that digital government development significantly improved the enterprise TFP, and this conclusion remained unchanged after a series of robustness tests using instrumental variables, one-stage lag of explained variables, and debiased machine learning models. We also found that the greater the pressure faced by local governments and the longer the chief officials’ tenure, the more attention local governments paid to building digital government, and the more obvious the role of digital government development in promoting enterprise TFP. Heterogeneity test results showed that the information disclosure, online service, and public participation all had a positive effect on enterprise TFP, while the user experience had no effect on it. Digital government development had a more obvious role in promoting enterprise TFP of central and western regions, non-SOEs, and technology-intensive enterprises. Moreover, reducing enterprise rent-seeking, attracting new enterprise entry, and increasing enterprise R&D investment are important mechanisms for digital government development to improve enterprise TFP. Full article

Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments. The study also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholders. Due to COVID-19, instead of fieldwork, we conducted telephone interviews with 20 smallholders in Mozambique and 35 in Tanzania. The Mozambican case showed that even when land set aside for investors was not in dispute, smallholders still had unmet expectations, especially regarding investors’ corporate social responsibility activities. In the Tanzanian case, even though the land leased by the Chinese investor had been designated as general land, it had laid fallow for a long period, and smallholders had moved back onto the land, only to be displaced in 2017. Although smallholders’ views on the investment were mixed, the case underscored the need for government to assess current land use before allocating it to investors—regardless of how the land is classified and especially in areas where land shortages are creating conflict. The cases show that even if communities are consulted about proposed land investments, guidelines need to include clauses that allow for ongoing communications between investors, communities and government officials such that if communities are unsatisfied with the results of the investment, renegotiation is possible. Further, in the event of crises, such as COVID-19, investors should partner with communities and government to limit the extent of harm in communities as a result of the crisis. Full article

The paper examines the applicability of the concept of ‘generation rent’ in the ‘super-homeownership’ housing regime and better-off focused welfare regime of Hungary. Available official statistical and survey data show the increase in private rentals among young households, and the appearance of private rental housing as a potential longer-term solution in the attitudes of young people towards housing. In the Hungarian context, the strong role of intergenerational transfers in access to home ownership and public housing policies contribute to the development of a ‘generation rent’. Furthermore, housing policies also affect the housing experiences of the Hungarian ‘generation rent’. In order to reduce tenure security and affordability risks, many households turn to family and friend networks. The involvement of family relations tends to prolong dependency on the family, thus affecting the youth-adulthood transition. Meanwhile the housing career plans of young people reflect the strongly ownership-oriented public discourse, even in the case of low-status young people, for whom acquiring homeownership is not a realistic aspiration. The analysis argues that the concept can be applied in the Hungarian context; however, the development, housing experiences, and housing career plans of ‘generation rent’ in Hungary are strongly influenced by the specific welfare regime and housing system context. Full article

Environmental governance is one of the priority tasks that is faced by China in its drive for sustainable social development. Environmental protection necessitates an equal focus on pollution-source control and pollution governance, and it shall be safeguarded with sound local economic-development models and long-term environmental-protection mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the government-official-appointment system and the effects of the personal characteristics of government officials and economic variables on the local water-environment pollution, measured by industrial wastewater discharge, using a dataset of Communist Party of China (CPC) municipal committee secretaries and municipal governors covering the period 2003–2012. We found that some temporal and spatial factors of China’s personnel-management system for government officials are correlated to the environment. More specifically, the turnover and interjurisdictional transfer of municipal governors contribute to long-term environmental protection, longer tenures facilitate better environmental protection, municipal governors who serve in their native provinces but not in their native municipalities facilitate better local environment protection, and officials may take different approaches towards environmental maintenance and governance. Full article

PPP withdrawal policy is helpful to reduce over-investment in PPPs leading to sustainable development. However, little is known about the role of local governments on over-investment in PPPs. Using the PPP Project Platform Data, a unique dataset, this article is able to quantify over-investment in PPPs by coding PPP withdrawal for the first time. This research tests the influencing factors of PPP withdrawal at the municipal level, according to the centralized withdrawal policy in late 2017 as an exogenous treatment. Based on the theory of over-investment to rapid economic growth, this study develops a two-pillar framework under the combination of political man and economic man assumptions to explain the PPP withdrawal of local governments. The results show that both official tenure and fiscal capacity are significant factors. In addition, debt partially mediates the mayor tenure on PPP withdrawal, and the land revenue growth can hinder the negative relationship between mayor tenure and PPP withdrawal. It implies that over-investment in PPPs is strongly influenced by official leaders’ personal promotion incentive and official group members’ collective benefit. Thus, our findings indicate that the centralized withdrawal policy is an effective instrument to prevent over-investment in PPPs. Moreover, a match should be formed between local development planning and investment plans to promote sustainable of PPP investment. Full article