Building land markets

This is a post-print of an article published in Land Use Policy 2006 published by Elsevier. This version is reproduced under the journals author licence agreement. http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30451/description#descriptionA primary driver in land titling and administration improvement is facilitation of a land market. Land markets are difficult to establish and to manage. Titling on its own will not create a land market, nor will a land administration system unless it is connected with the way participants think about and organise their land. Indeed, the difficulty is compounded because very little is available to explain how a land market works, particularly to identify non-technical components essential for market success. This framework article explains land markets in terms of five evolutionary stages. The ingredients of a complex and developed land market, especially social processes and cognitive capacities, are identified