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Subject: RE: The Curse of India's Socialism
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From: Dave Long <dl@silcom.com>
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Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 11:11:57 -0700



>                                 You have multiple generations of
> peasants/squatters that cultivate and live on the lands almost as a
> human parts of the property package.

When I'd read that "getting legal title
can take 20 years", when I believe that
1 year ought to be more than sufficient,
(and helped by the Cairo reference) I'd
assumed that we were talking about the
urban poor.

If I see people living in mansions, or
even in suburban subdivisions, I assume
they didn't have too much trouble with
their titles.

If I see people living in shanties and
haphazard alleyways, I tend to assume
their parcels weren't exactly recorded
on the government maps, or paid for with
a bank loan, especially when nearby vacant
lots have shotgun wielding men presumably
intent on keeping them "development" free.

Now, it may be that "Manhattanites' view
of America" to say that outside of Metro
Manila, Davao, and maybe another city or
two (Cebu?), everything else (literally)
is the boondocks.  But going on that very
broad assumption, I guess I'm describing
the flip side of Mr. Roger's experience:
the paisanos (who leave behind those who
remain on a patron's rural land) move to
Manila, and (the second assumption) squat
in shantytowns there, at least until they
can line up a middle-class job.

So, going on two large assumptions, I can
come up with a scenario under which title
would take 20 years: a shantytown arises
somewhere in the midst of a section (or
whatever the Spanish used to divvy up the
land) and it takes decades of arguing to
put together a package which somehow can
both compensate the owner and record lots
for the inhabitants.  Just transferring
title to an existing lot, between parties
who have money, ought not to be a problem.

The obvious solution, at least to us
barking farting chihuahuas on FoRK, is
to "introduce market mechanisms".  It is
left as an exercise to come up with one
which works when many of the agents (are
perceived to) have negligible NPV.

-Dave

>              [land reform] meant that all the agricultural producers had
> to plant crops all the time (profitable or not) ...

What happened to more highly-capitalized
land?  Putting in trees instead of crops
sounds like it might sidestep that.

> Mr. Long, I think you'd particularly enjoy the De Soto work.

On the "to find" list.  Any chance of
an explanation of that "Bell Jar" in
the meantime?

http://xent.com/mailman/listinfo/fork

