How Does Land Title Affect Access to Credit? Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Economy

This paper studies the effects property rights on credit access using a unique data set based on a Brazilian land-titling program affecting 85,000 families. The causal role of land title is isolated by comparing two communities in Osasco, where some residential units are allocated titles and others not. Survey data is collected from residents before and after the title granting. In order to estimate land title impact, we have undertaken the Difference-in- Differences methodology. Some of our results suggest that land title increases the access to credit for about 60%. Additionally, land title impact by gender and credit type is presented and also positive.