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Abstract
There has long been an active debate in Haiti—as in many other developing countries—
over whether or not the customary tenure system constrains technology adoption and
agricultural development, and whether cadaster and land titling should be national priorities.
This paper contributes to this debate by reviewing and interpreting the body of literature and
new empirical evidence concerning the relationship between land tenure and the adoption of
technology in rural Haiti. The findings suggest that (a) formal title is not necessarily more secure
than informal arrangements, (b) informal arrangements based on traditional social capital
resources assure affordable and flexible access to land for most people, and (c) perceived
stability of access to land—via stability of personal and social relationships—is a more
important determinant of technology adoption than mode of access. The paper concludes that
there is no definitive relationship between tenure and technology adoption by peasants; peasants
are preoccupied more by political and economic insecurity than insecure tenure; and rather than
tinkering with formalizing tenure, policy makers should prioritize other more fundamental rural
sector reforms. The paper ends by considering some of the implications for theory and suggests
several avenues for future research on land policy.