Impact Evaluation of the Lesotho Land Administration Reform 2019 (Lesotho)

Abstract

Evaluation Design
Impact Evaluation: Matched comparison group Difference-in-Differences (DID) and analysis of time-series high resolution aerial photography

Performance Evaluation: Analysis of time-series land administration, cadastral, bank and building permits data covering the period before and after the start of LARP-related activities

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) established a partnership with Michigan State University (MSU) to design and conduct the evaluation of the Land Administration Reform Project (LARP). A matched comparison group difference-in-differences evaluation strategy was designed and baseline data were collected in March-June 2013 (https://data.mcc.gov/evaluations/index.php/catalog/85), aimed at to test whether the following expected outcomes were realized and attributable to LARP:
(1) Reduction in the financial and time burden of conducting land transaction with LAA and increased efficiency in rendering land administration services to the public by LAA;
(2) Reduction in time for land conflict resolution and reduction in land related conflicts within the areas where there has been intervention amongst the 55,000 lease holders;
(3) Increased number of land parcels used as collateral for mortgage, and increased property investment, subleasing, rentals and other economic activities;
(4) Increased frequency of formal land transaction, increased land values, and increased base case mortgage lending volume;
(5) Increased household income of primary and secondary beneficiaries;
(6) Increased understanding by Basotho of their rights and knowledge about services rendered by the LAA; and
(7) Increased willingness of other landowners outside the regularization impact areas to request formal land title.

After reviewing the initial evaluation design and baseline data, complementary approaches are employed for the impact and performance evaluation of LTRP-related activities. These include: Firstly, with the administration of the follow-up household survey, DID approach with propensity score matching (PSM) is used to assess the impact of the program at the household, individual and plot level. This approach is complemented using time-series high resolution aerial photography (with geographic discontinuity design) to assess the impact of LARP-related activities on new construction and/or expansion of existing built-up area at the plot level. Secondly, administrative data from different sources were compiled for the purpose of performance evaluation: spatial and textual land administration data (including and mortgage and transaction registration) form the Lesotho Land Administration Authority; data on the incidence of issuance of building permits form Maseru City Council; and gender disaggregated loans by commercial banks and microfinance institutions form Lesotho Central Bank. These data are used, among others, to assess the impact of legal, regulatory and institutional reforms on: (i) gender equality with regard to access to formalized residential land and land rights; (ii) duration to registered mortgage and land transactions; and (iii) formalization of new construction or expansion of existing structures authorized by building permits.

The follow up survey is conducted by the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics and extraction of vector data from 2009 and 2016 high resolution data is done by the World Bank research team.