Land titling and its effect on the allocation of public goods: Evidence from Mexico

• Published in: World development 2019-12, Vol.124, p.104660, Article 104660
• Main Author: Ramírez-Álvarez, Aurora Alejandra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allocation; Economic models; Ejido; Elections; Electricity; Households; Land; Land ownership; Land reform; Latin American; Local elections; Mexico; Ownership; Private property; Property rights; Public goods; Public lands; Residential energy; Rural areas; Rural communities; Voter turnout; Water
• ISSN: 0305-750X; 1873-5991
• DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104660

•Private property rights can be associated with lower growth of public goods.•After privatization, there is lower growth in the percentage of households with access to water and electricity in ejidos.•Why privatized ejidos with higher levels of human capital and income have lower growth in public goods provision?•Results suggest this paradox might be explained by a deteriorated role of the ejido leader reflected in lower turnout. In this paper, I study the effect of land ownership reforms in the allocation of local public goods in rural Mexico. I estimate the impact of acquiring dominio pleno, the private ownership of areas of land known as ejidos, on the allocation of local public goods (i.e., piped water and electricity). Using a first-differences matching estimator, I show that private property rights can be associated with lower growth of local public goods. During the period I study, there is lower growth in the percentage of households with access to water and electricity in dominio pleno ejidos. I suggest that this result is explained by a deteriorated role of the ejido leader, which is consistent with lower turnout rates in municipal elections observed in these areas.