Rural Populations, Land Degradation, and Living Standards in Developing Countries

Abstract

In this article, we review evidence on the relationship between land as a productive asset and living standards in developing countries. We begin by presenting evidence concerning three key trends in agricultural land use and degradation across developing countries. First, since 1970, agricultural land area in developing countries has continued to expand and shows little signs of abating. Second, there is evidence that the concentration of relatively poor rural populations on remote and less favored land with poor agricultural productivity is continuing. Finally, global assessments indicate that the problem of land degradation is worsening in some developing regions and that a significant share of rural populations in these regions live on degrading agricultural land. Our review of the evidence suggests that these trends in agricultural land use and degradation may have considerable implications for the living standards of millions of rural households in the developing world and possibly for poverty alleviation overall. To further explore these possible relationships, we examine empirical evidence on the relationship between soil quality and the living standards of households based on a survey of 17 low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world’s poorest regions.