Land Registration Modernization in Developing Economies: A Discussion of the Main Problems in Central/Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

This paper presents the challenges and issues facing countries in the ex-socialist countries, Latin America, and the Caribbean as they attempt to formalize land rights and facilitate a land market. By focusing on issues and problems we hope to influence the design orre-design of land registration systems. Although similar initiatives are being undertaken in other regions of the world, the three regions covered in this paper encompass a large majority of land registration modernization initiatives. The paper is based on the authors' experience in working with projects funded by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, DANIDA and other development agencies. The discussion of each region includes the general background followed by a short description of the major problems being faced in these regions. While these regions differ substantially in terms of their history, culture and socio-economic status, certain common problems emerge in their effort to document the legal and spatial dimensions of land rights and facilitate the efficient transfer of these rights.