Establishing land rights for the poor in developing nations was a mostly-ignored issue until the second annual Clinton Global Initiative in Manhattan in late September, 2006.
"Many citizens of developing countries don't formally have title to their land, and many economists -- including Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, another conference attendee -- see this as a key source of urban poverty. According to Mr. de Soto's research, the value of unregistered land in developing countries totals over $9 trillion."
"...But standing in the way of widespread land-ownership records are insufficient legal frameworks, confusing procedures and corrupt property registries."
[Editor's note: This article is available to Planetizen readers via the link below for a period of five days, then only available to WSJ subscribers.]
Thanks to Peter Gordon's Blog
FULL STORY: Helping the Poor Register Land
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