Michigan State University was assigned to design the impact evaluation (IE) of the Land Administration Reform Project (LARP) funded under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)-Lesotho compact. The impact evaluation is designed to test the following key economic hypotheses. It is hypothesized that land with formally recognized titles will result in:
- Increased number of land parcels used as collateral for mortgage
- Increased investment in the property, increased frequency of transfers, subletting, rentals, and other economic activities
- Increased value of land
- Reduction in land related conflicts
- Increase in income/expenditures of beneficiaries
The purpose of the rigorous IE design is to measure and monitor these hypothesized impacts and assess the causality in effects outlined in the impact pathway. The IE design is based on a difference-in-difference (DiD) analytical framework requiring the collection and analysis of baseline and end line data from treatment and control areas. Data towards the baseline assessment were collected by T&T Geomatics and MASAZI Development Associates (referred hereafter as the 'survey firm') from March to June 2013. The dataset is based on the data entry done by the Office of Survey Research at Michigan State University in 2015. This documentation describes the raw variables and the variable created by the evaluation team for the descriptive data analysis reflected in the Baseline Report.