Matrix Land Use Analysis - a Case Study of Landscape Changes in Israeli Carmel Area

The spatial redistribution of the land uses can be measured by remote sensing conventional methods in the form of the matrices of the land uses redistributions within a given set of regions in a given time period. Two new methods of analysis of such land uses redistribution matrices are proposed. The first method represent the geometric and analytical algorithm of decomposition of the land use redistribution matrix into the convex combination of the land use matrices which represents the main tendencies of land use redistributions in a given set of regions in a given time period. Thus, each empirically given land use redistribution can be presented as a superposition of the land uses redistributions connected with the optimal solutions of some extreme land use redistributions corresponding to the parsimonious behavior of land users in a given set of regions in a given time period. The second method represents the construction of the artificial land use landscape corresponding to the minimum information land use redistribution with fixed initial and final land use distributions. The comparison of the empirical land uses landscape with the artificial oner can be acheived by measurement of the entropy limitator of homogenuity of land uses redistribution. This limitator represents the spatial specifics of an actual land use redistributions connected with different parsimonious behavior of the land users themselves. As an empirical validation of these new methods the set of 10 different regions in the vicinity of Haifa Carmel area is chosen for different time intervals and the main tendencies of land use redistributions are identified together with their minimum information artificial landscapes. The new methodology and modeling approach will assist future planning in the rural-urban fringe. Optimal solutions for nature conservation and urban development conflicts can be learned through the application of these models.

Immigration to the Land of Redistribution

Negative perceptions about migrants in Europe, the Continent with the largest social policy programmes, are driven by concerns that foreigners are a net fiscal burden. Paradoxically instruments of social inclusion are becoming a weapon of mass exclusion. Increasing concerns of public opinion are indeed pressing Governments, in the midst of the recession, to reduce welfare access by migrants or further tighten migration policies. Are there politically feasible alternatives to these two hardly enforceable (and procyclical) policy options? In this paper we look at economic and cultural determinants of negative perceptions about migrants in Europe. Based on a simple model of the perceived fiscal effects of migration and on a largely unexploited database (EU-Silc), we find no evidence that legal migrants, notably skilled migrants, are net recipients of transfers from the state. However, there is evidence of "residual dependency" on non-contributory transfers and self-selection of migrants more likely to draw on welfare in the countries with the most generous welfare state. Moreover, redistribution does not find much support among those who are in favour of immigration. A way out of the migration into the welfare state dilemma facing Europe involves i. co-ordinating safety nets across the EU, ii. adopting explicitly selective migration policies, and iii. improving activation programmes. Other options – such as restricting migration or welfare access by migrants – are however on the agenda of national Governments.migration policy, welfare access, fiscal externality

Early Land Redistribution and the Food Security of South African Households: Micro-econometric evidence from national data

The South African land redistribution program, which was launched in 1994, has been widely criticised for its slow pace as well as its seemingly limited contribution to poverty reduction, but to the best of my knowledge, no econometric evidence of the impact of land redistribution has been provided so far, as it is the case in most countries having experienced this type of policies. This paper presents estimates of the impact of having received a land grant on households´ self-reported difficulties in meeting food needs in the past 12 months, using data from the September 2002 South Africa National Labour Force Survey. Bivariate probit estimates controlling for potential self-selection of land reform beneficiaries indicate that participation in the land grant scheme has increased food insecurity for poorer participants, whilst decreasing it for comparatively better-off participants

Farmland transfers in KwaZulu-Natal, 1997-2003: A focus on land redistribution including restitution

Census surveys of land transactions show that 203,300 hectares of KwaZulu-Natal's commercial farmland transferred to previously disadvantaged South Africans over the period 1997-2003. This represents 3.8 per cent of the farmland originally available for redistribution in 1994. The annual rate of land redistribution in the province fell from a peak of 1.06 per cent in 2002 to 0.41 per cent in 2003, following an increase in the real price of farmland. Transactions financed only with government grants accounted for almost one-half of the redistributed farmland. However, the quality of farmland financed with grants awarded under government's land redistribution programme was poor relative to that financed privately. The LRAD programme introduced in 2001 improved government's contribution to land reform, attracting private capital and expertise into the process. Unfortunately, the number of transactions financed with a combination of LRAD grants and mortgage loans fell from 14 in 2002 to just six in 2003. It is recommended that all reputable banks (and not just the Land Bank) should be allowed to approve LRAD grants for eligible clients. Previously disadvantaged women gained less land, and much less land wealth, than did their male counterparts. Somewhat surprisingly, women were well represented in transactions financed by Ithala Finance and Investment Corporation to establish emerging sugarcane farmers. However, the same was not true of clients financed by the Land Bank.Land Economics/Use,

The effect of vegetation patterns on Aeolian mass flux at regional scale: a wind tunnel study

Although insight on the effect of vegetation pattern on Aeolian mass transport is essential for re-planting degraded land, only limited knowledge on this effect is available. The objective of this research was to understand the effect of vegetation design on the Aeolian mass flux inside a single land unit and at the borders among land units. A simulation of Atriplex halimus shrubs inside a wind tunnel was made, and sand redistribution was measured after the application of 200-230 seconds wind at a speed of 11 ms-1. The study showed that: 1) sediment maximum transport inside a single land unit is related to the neighboring land units and to the vegetation pattern within both the unit itself and the neighboring land units; 2) the effect of neighboring land units includes the protection effect and the ruling of sediment crossing from one land unit to the neighboring land units; 3) for the designing of re-planting of degraded land the ‘streets’ (zones of erosion areas similar to streets) effect need to be considered; and 4) in addition to the general knowledge needed on the effect of vegetation pattern on the erosion and deposition within an area, it is important to have insight on the redistribution of sediment at small scales upon the aim of the project

Land Reform and Farm-Household Income Inequality: The Case of Georgia

The income inequality implications of land reform are examined for the case of Georgia using regression-based inequality decomposition techniques. An egalitarian land redistribution is likely to equalize per-capita income among farm households, implying that continuing the land reform process in Georgia is likely to benefit poorer households, relatively speaking. However, land fragmentation was found to be disequalizing, and therefore land market developments that enable plot consolidation are not less important for inequality than the land redistribution itself. Both landholdings and farm assets have favorable inequality implications not only through farm income but also through non-farm income, implying that these productive assets increase the economic opportunities of rural households in the non-farm sector as well, perhaps by easing borrowing constraints.income inequality, land reform, inequality decomposition, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

Land redistribution, tenure insecurity, and intensity of production: a study of farm households in southern Ethiopia

"This study analyzes the determinants of land tenure insecurity and its impact on intensity of use of purchased farm inputs among households in Southern Ethiopia. Seventeen percent of the households stated that they were tenure insecure. The feeling of tenure insecurity could be caused by the land redistribution policy in Ethiopia where household size has been the main criterion used for land allocation after the land reform in 1975. This would imply that land rich households should be more tenure insecure. Alternatively, the local power structure may be strong enough to counter this and cause the land rich, who are also likely to be influential, to be able to protect their land rights. The analysis revealed that, in the overall sample, relative farm size was not significantly correlated with tenure insecurity. When testing for each site, however, we found that in four of the sites per capita farm size was positively associated with tenure insecurity, while in five other sites it had a significant negative association. This may be due to local historical, cultural, and demographic differences giving way to differences in the effects of the redistribution policy and the local power structure on tenure insecurity. We assessed the impact of tenure insecurity on the intensity of use of purchased farm inputs. The tenure insecurity variable was insignificant. Farmers in areas with a positive correlation between farm size and tenure insecurity were more likely to purchase farm inputs. Larger farms were more likely to use purchased inputs, but this effect was lower in areas with a positive correlation between farm size and tenure insecurity. Poverty and subsistence constraints may explain this absence of higher intensity of use of purchased inputs on small farms. By contrast, the land redistribution policy may have improved small farms' access to purchased farm inputs. (text of Abstract)Land tenure Ethiopia., Land use Ethiopia., Gender,

Robin Hood’s compromise : the economics of moderate land reforms.

This paper analyses the consequences of an unusual type of land redistribution; we take land from the very rich, as usual, but give it to the rich instead of the poor. We show that such “moderate” reform reduces agency costs and thereby increases productivity, total surplus in the economy, and the welfare of rural workers. Compared to the classic redistribution ”to the tiller”, moderate reforms do worse in terms of equity and do not give the poor a collaterizable asset. They can however do equally well in terms of efficiency and might be more sustainable both financially and politically.

Market power and voluntary land redistribution

Inequality in land ownership remains a major issue in many developing countries, such as Brazil, Colombia, and South Africa. Donors advocate a new model of "willing-buyer/willing-seller\", market-led land redistribution, but actual redistribution has fallen short of expectations. Little effort has been made so far to formalize the obstacles to market-led land redistribution. In this paper, we show that oligopolistic owner-producers may resist land sales to poorer candidate-buyers not only because they have a lower willingness to pay for land but also because the entry of poorer entrants threatens tacit collusion

Land Inequality and Conflict Intensity

This paper investigates the impact of land inequality on conflict intensity. A fundamental distinction with the existing literature lies in the nature of inequality under consideration. We investigate how land inequality across landlords only influences the intensity of the fight against a rebel group constituted by landless individuals. We show that conflict intensity is non-monotonic in land inequality. In particular, the most severe conflicts occur for intermediate land inequality levels. Moreover, a Pareto improving transfer of land from the smaller to the larger landlord may exist. --Conflict,Land Redistribution,Inequality