Diversity of Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and their Divergent Outcomes in Ethiopia

Large-scale land acquisitions represent changes in inherently complex and coupled natural and human systems, particularly so in developing countries where land is the principal basis of livelihoods and the provision of substantial ecosystem services, both of which are simultaneously impacted by transactions. Although existing literature has provided various evidence on land transaction outcomes throughout the world, little systematic empirical research has been conducted to assess the full array of outcomes in the economic, social, and ecological dimensions. Our analysis of 24 land transactions, systematically selected from over 800 cases in the country of Ethiopia, points to the fact of divergent outcomes from the ongoing land tenure change process. Rather than being overwhelmingly negative as suggested in existing empirical research, we find that the integrated outcomes of large-scale land acquisitions, by considering their economic, social, and ecological consequences, can be synergy, tradeoff, struggle, and failure.