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The study is based on the articles published in the leading news websites on land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (LARR) in India and highlights the need of proper structuring and streamlining of the reportage. The study reveals how most news articles reporting the plights of the people fail to uncover their long term issues like degradation of living conditions at the resettlement site, livelihood loss, negative social impacts, and disregard of gendered issues. This paper contains a quantitative and qualitative thematic analysis of media articles published on the subject of LARR in India over the span of five years. The study derives how media has made conscious efforts to report in support of affected people by mentioning the compensation and land losses they face. However, the desired effect is hindered by lack of consideration of existing imbalance in power dynamics and reporting according to it. • Quantitative and qualitative analysis of news articles on (LARR. • News articles from India's most circulated news websites. • Quantitative variables- Issues, Characters, and functions fulfilled. • Thematic qualitative analysis of the articles on power dynamics. • Recommendations for media and policy improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land policy making is a complex systemic process in which new policies emerge and are nonlinearly transferred. However, challenges remain, as the recent policy diffusion literature cannot match policy making to complex adaptive systems. This study elucidates the conjunctural causal mechanisms of local policy innovation and diffusion in China. To analyze the differences in China's land reform, a theoretical framework is established that includes four key conditions—incentive rules, local context, vertical governmental coercion and interregional diffusion—as well as three analytical principles, namely, nonlinearity, conjunction and intersection. Then, an archetype analysis based on the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method is conducted on 119 city governments that implemented land retention policies during the period of 2000–2019. The results systematically associate local policy action with five theory-based archetypes, each with its own narrative expression ("risk aversion", "reform pilot", "political learning", "induced competition", and "social evolution"). This article reveals that 1) China's administrative institutional structure shapes the reform motivation of local governments and their interaction with the central government, and the performance evaluation system for officials plays a key role in this dynamic; 2) local contexts can limit or amplify coercive and learning mechanisms, and policy knowledge can impede diffusion under certain conditions; and 3) the combination of archetypes occurs at three levels: theoretical mechanisms, conditional elements, and factor combinations. Overall, the study shows how multilevel factor interactions influence the decision-making process for China's land reform. These findings can serve as useful references for conjunctural causation research on policy innovation and diffusion in China and assist local decision makers in other countries in transition in developing sustainable land policies. • Land policy making is conceptualized as a complex process in socio-ecological system. • Positive promotion incentive contributes to policy innovation and diffusion. • Absence of central government enhances the reform incentive of local governments. • High-level spatial proximity hinders policy diffusion under specific situation. • Combinations of policy elements at different scales produce conjunctural result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public interest doctrine has been deployed by successive state regimes in Indonesia to legitimise the forcible acquisition of land for the state and private interests since the colonial period. This article examines how the government of Indonesia during the Jokowi presidency, has redefined the meaning and scope of 'public interest' in the context of land governance in Indonesia, resulting in an escalation in social conflict and contestation over rights to use and access land. We employ a critical political economy approach to demonstrate how this redefinition of the 'public interest' has provided legitimacy for the national government's actions in forcibly acquiring land using a comparative case study of tourism development in East Nusa Tenggara and a dam construction project in Central Java in Indonesia. While the national government has argued that these 'development' projects benefit local communities, the empirical evidence challenges these claims. This article contributes to the land governance literature by examining the specific role of state institutions. In contrast to the liberal conception of the state as a neutral agent whose function is to balance diverse and conflicting interests over land in society to achieve common goals, the experience in Indonesia shows that the state is in fact the largest and most powerful procurer of land for capital investment in the country. Instead of benefiting the local communities, these state-sponsored development projects are more likely to serve the interests of politico-business elites. • Redefinition of the 'public interest' under the Jokowi presidency in Indonesia has seen an escalation in land conflicts. • A critical political economy lens shows how this redefinition has underpinned state legitimacy in forcibly acquiring land. • The Indonesian state is now the country's largest and most powerful procurer of land for capital investment. • State-sponsored development in the public interest today primarily serves the interests of politico-business elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We study the impacts of farmland acquisition on household income and happiness. • Land acquisition increases household total income but reduces individual happiness. • The positive income effect is significant only in the eastern region of China. • Compensation inequality has a negative effect on happiness level. • Various forms of non-pecuniary compensation have no significant effect on happiness improvement. Based on data from the China Household Income Project in 2013, this study empirically evaluates the income effect and happiness effect of land acquisition. The results show that land acquisition improves household income but reduces individual happiness. Propensity score matching (PSM) methods have proved the robustness of this result. The mechanism analysis shows that (1) land compensation is not enough to generate "labor supply effect", whereas land acquisition intensity has a dominant effect which promotes households allocate more labor on off-farm labor market, especially on local off-farm activities. The positive income effect is significant only in the eastern region of China. (2) Both the great deprivation of farmland and compensation inequality have a negative effect on happiness level, but various forms of non-pecuniary compensation have no significant effect on happiness improvement. We conclude that the increase in household income cannot offset the negative effect of land acquisition on happiness, the decrease in happiness levels of land-lost farmers may be largely due to the compensatio system which has not provided fair compensation and not sufficiently taken full account of how to secure their property rights and ensure their long-term livelihood. Finally, we provide recommendations on the reform of the current land acquisition system to improve the interests and welfare of land-lost farmers during the process of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is an undeniable fact that large scale land acquisition for agricultural production and urban development in Ghana is on the upsurge. The receiving end of the effect of land acquisition on household livelihoods are those living on or proximal to the acquired lands. Using primary data collected from four districts in the northern region of Ghana, this study estimated household livelihood security (HLS) index for households living in communities with and without large scale land acquisition. HLS index for the two groups were estimated using household livelihood framework. Welch's t -test was used to test the hypothesis that communities without land acquisition have greater HLS index than their counterparts in communities with land acquisition. Also, conditional recursive mixed-process (CMP) was used to estimate the effects of large scale land acquisition on HLS index. The findings evinced that food security index, economic security index, sanitation security index, water security index, health security index, shelter security index and social security index for households living in communities without land acquisition is significantly higher than their counterparts in communities with land acquisition. The results also revealed that land acquisition has significant negative effects on the livelihood of households. It is therefore recommended that pragmatic steps should be taken to sensitize the release of land by allodial land title holders to buyers. Allodial title holders of land should pay appropriate and reasonable compensation to usufruct title holders of land to minimise the effects of land acquisition on household livelihoods. Also, compensation or alternative employment should be provided to the community members for loss of land-based activities and livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • State controlled expropriation is the sole urban land acquisition and delivery method in Ethiopia. • Peri-urban areas are places where the conventional urban land acquisition measures are being largely executed. • Urban land development process in Ethiopia is largely criticized for inducing displacement of the peri-urban landholders. • Land readjustment is recommended to be introduced in the Ethiopian urban land development system of Ethiopia. Abstract The conventional and state controlled expropriation is the sole urban land acquisition method for housing and other urban development purposes in Ethiopia. Transitional peri-urban areas are those places where state controlled expropriation measures are largely executed as a response to the growing land and housing demands induced by rapid urbanization. Thus, the aim of this study is to review the deficiencies associated with the existing urban land acquisition and delivery method with a view of arriving at an alternative means of mitigating the challenges associated with it. A mixture of desk review and case study approaches were employed to achieve the objective of the study. The findings of the study shows that the urban land acquisition strategy employed by the government has been exerting unnecessary pressure on peri-urban land and it is also largely criticized for inducing displacement and disruption to the local farming peri-urban communities. The challenges seen in the peri-urban areas stipulate policy makers and researchers and other stakeholders to think outside the box and bring alternative solutions for it. In line with this, the reviews of international experiences on urbanization and associated growing demand of land, land readjustment has largely been implemented as alternative and emerging land acquisition and delivery tool. Therefore, government led land readjustment is recommended to be introduced in the Ethiopian urban land development system as a mechanism to revert the unpleasant urban development practices and trends seen in the peri-urban areas of Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghana experienced a surge in large-scale land acquisitions in the past decade spearheaded by the bioenergy crop jatropha. To accommodate such acquisitions, small and medium-sized land holdings were consolidated to develop large parcels of land that could accommodate large-scale investments. Chiefs have been an important player in these processes as they are supposed to be the custodians of land in Ghana. However, they often engage with such land acquisition processes in a counterproductive manner, deeply affecting their outcomes. Chiefs often act as the gatekeepers of large-scale land acquisitions, helping foreign donors/investors and the state steer the institutional landscape of land tenure, which is not only complicated but also prone to social conflicts. In order to unravel the exact roles that chiefs have played in such processes (and the motivations behind their actions) we adopt an agrarian political economy framework based on the five key questions: “ who owns what”, “who does what”, “who gets what” , “ who interacts with whom” and “participation by whom in what” . To answer these questions, we conduct interviews with chiefs, experts and local households around five collapsed jatropha plantations in Ghana. Our empirical analysis suggests that chiefs often went beyond their customary roles as land custodians, by occasionally acting as land owners/sellers, expropriators, negotiators, receivers of compensation, and sources of conflict. These roles are to an extent an outcome of the weak, undocumented and largely discretionary land administration system of Ghana, which allows chiefs benefit by bypassing both customary and statutory land laws. Chiefs were often motivated by expected economic gains for themselves at the expense of the communal interests. On some cases this unconstructive role catalysed the collapse of the jatropha investments. These suggest the need for deep land policy reforms within the land administration system of Ghana. While the recent adoption of guidelines for large-scale land acquisitions promoted by the government of Ghana is a good start, land policy reforms should go deeper. Further reforms would be needed to strengthen the current legislation in terms of harmonizing all land laws, as well as outlining explicit directives for land negotiations, compensation (including defining the rightful recipients of compensation) and the effective evaluation of large-scale land acquisitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given land owners’ resistance to the compulsory acquisition of land and the recurring debate on inadequacy of compensation, this research re-examines losses of landowners in terms of loss of functionings offered by land. The aim of this research paper is to understand the relationship between land ownership and well-being when seen through the lens of Sen’s (1979) ‘capability approach’ and to identify fundamental functionings associated with land that are generalizable at global level. The relationship between wellbeing and functionings offered by commodities is the focus of Sen’s (1979) ‘capability approach’ Understanding functionings of land required inductive approach and primary investigation was performed through focus group discussions with participants from eleven different countries, who are currently pursuing doctoral research at the University of Melbourne. A holistic list of nine fundamental functionings of land was obtained towards the end of these discussions, which are: (i) Secure means to basic ends; (ii) Self-identity; (iii) Social capital; (iv)Social equity; (v) Political empowerment; (vi) Power to take decisions on land matters; (vii) Family’s wellbeing; (viii) Personal comfort and convenience; and (ix) Psychological wellbeing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in Pakistan requires new public infrastructures, which necessitates land acquisitions. However, Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (LAA, 1894) is primitive, recessive, complex, and prone to land conflicts, requiring systematic research exploring the logic of the legal conduct. This paper converts LAA, 1894 into an extensive-form game to explain the logic of land acquisition conflicts in Pakistan, as incumbents interact strategically. The Nash equilibrium (NE) of the extensive-form game suggests Land Acquisition Collector has an absolute advantage over settlers, reasoned by flawed compensation assessment. Thus, a bad win-win situation induces illegitimate behavior, extending the paper to Artificial Price Hike and Corruption-based game models. The mixed-strategy NE of both models suggests that illegitimate behaviors remain unchecked because of the high litigation costs, lack of transparency, the informality of land, and insufficient cadastral information. Finally, the models are calibrated with current land acquisition conflicts and legal precedents in the study area. This paper provides generalized interactive game models applicable to study the logic of land conflicts amid legal and policy implementation and suggests policies to improve the land administration and legal system to manage conflicts. • Extensive form game explains the interaction under Land Acquisition Act 1894, resulting in land acquisition conflicts. • Eminent Domain rationalizes dispossession and forced eviction for public purpose. • For profit-based ventures, the government's extended negotiation process is prone to objections by settlers. • Nash equilibrium exhibits a bad win-win situation exacerbates land acquisition conflicts. • Primitive, weak and informal legal and administrative system of provokes and sustains the illegitimate behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of people's protests against land acquisition for mining in the Indian state of Odisha, the present paper attempts to identify the underlying household level factors. The paper uses primary data collected from the Talcher coalfield region of the state and estimates limited dependent variable models. It is found that the households belonging to the scheduled tribe category or having larger per capita income or with greater access to basic amenities are more inclined to give up their land for mining. However, such inclination is lower when they have more land or better education or are concerned about deforestation and pollution. As regards the amount, the paper finds that households with higher per capita income or larger per capita asset base or greater access to basic amenities desire to give up more land. On the other hand, willingness to give up land is less either when households possess more land holding or when there is a larger male workforce in the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recognition of the opportunities associated with climate change, the finance sector have engaged in market based activities via the acquisition of land for ecosystem services, such as biofuel production or forestry for carbon sequestration. Many of these investments are global in scope; with finance capital from the Global North directed into the acquisition of land in the global South. We take the case study of the self-proclaimed largest plantation forestry operator on the African continent, the Norwegian company, Green Resources and their Ugandan land acquisition, to explore, firstly, the claims-making associated with the expanding financialisation of land and natural resources and secondly, the new corporate enclosures engendered via such companies’ participation in the expanding carbon economy. Our findings show that investor claims regarding the economic development and environmental sustainability at the site level do not match with the lived reality of Ugandan villagers at the investment site. Whilst carbon capture is possible, it is outweighed by a suite of social and environment ills, including forced dispossession, biodiversity loss and chemical pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on evolving land acquisition compensation policy and practice in Hangzhou, a better-developed coastal city in the Yangtze River Delta Region, by assessing the evolution of land acquisition compensation and the interplay among the main actors, especially the local government and affected individual villagers and rural collectives. It evaluates the hybrid compensation governance that includes monetary compensation, employment alternatives, share-holding co-operative, social security assurance, and rural collective retained land. The study reveals that while land acquisition compensation has been gradually improved in many aspects, land-lost villagers are still subject to various uncertainties in sustaining their lives, competing in the labor market, and adapting to urban life. Furthermore, markedly improved land acquisition compensation in Hangzhou has created newly emerging socio-economic problems amongst dislocated rural villagers. The paper reveals how different compensation measures have redefined rural collectives and land-lost rural villagers in the urbanization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While literature on land grabbing and land formalisation respectively has literally exploded the past decade, few studies analyse the practical processes taking place at their confluence, or provide an analysis at an aggregate level. This paper is based on 27 months of in-depth empirical investigation of thirteen large-scale agro-investments across four regions in Tanzania. It explores how four key legislative acts and policies related to land formalisation and land acquisition for large-scale agro-investments unfold on the ground, their implementation and combined effects. We show that land formalisation and acquisition are intrinsically linked: the former paving the way for investment in all thirteen cases. Moreover, rather than fulfilling development policy expectations of land tenure security for smallholder farmers, employment and poverty reduction in rural Africa, we demonstrate that, in Tanzania, these combined processes rather foster village land dispossession, investors' land acquisitions, and a (re)centralisation of land control. Therefore, we argue that the conjoint implementation of policies associated with land formalisation and land investments have adverse consequences for rural farmers whose land is formalised and then set aside for investment ultimately leading to a formalised rural land dispossession. Our unique aggregate analysis thus provides solid support to the existing critique towards the parallel implementation of land formalisation and large-scale agro-investments, and the interlinked reform of the land legislative framework, all strongly supported by global development bodies. • The paper presents the practical outcomes of the land formalisation and large-scale agro-investment agendas in Tanzania. • It's based on 27 months of empirical data from 13 large-scale agro-investments in Tanzania across 4 regions and 6 districts. • Combined, land formalisation and large-scale agro-investments lead to a systematic dispossession of village land. • The dispossession takes place through predatory and legal practices implementing four legislative land acts and policies Such systematic dispossession takes place in favor of investors' land acquisitions and increasing land (re)-centralisation. • Combining land formalisation and land acquisition processes proves detrimental to farmers' and pastoralists' land access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on global land deals or land acquisition has extensively described the possible drivers, trajectories, and their impacts. In addition, the concept of a ‘land grab’ per se is heavily contested and viewed as a work in progress. Many have argued on the topic of inclusive land deals without addressing which groups of stakeholders are vested with particular powers and interests in the deals. After reviewing this phenomena in contemporary global land deals and the stakeholder theory of management developed in the 1980s, this paper proposes a conceptual land deal framework. Accordingly, the actors in land deals are characterised and disaggregated into seven generic groups, i.e., “inactive”, “discretionary”, “exigent”, “dominant”, “dangerous”, “dependent”, and “definitive”. The paper concluded that to address the governance challenges in land deals, a need exists to resolve conceptualisation deficiencies related to inclusive land deal frameworks. Thus, this work suggests that extending the stakeholder theory of management to the global governance of transnational land acquisition can significantly aid in resolving conceptualisation limitations for inclusive transnational land deals. Hence, a new inclusive land deal framework was developed that attempts to integrate the biophysical environment, stakeholders, governance, and institutions. Furthermore, this paper recommends that contextualisation of the suggested “land deal power-interest clustering (LD-PIC)” and “legitimacy-interest-power (LIP)” frameworks to those already signed and ongoing land deals using real-world data is a timely matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates land transactions in relation to intended land use change from a micro-scale perspective. A better understanding of land transactions is important for understanding and influencing how land is used. The aim is to explore how the different aspects and their interrelations influence landowner behaviour during land transactions initiated by the government. The study draws on 42 explorative interviews with land purchasers, land policy experts, planning professionals and local farmers. The study shows that uncertainty, and feelings of justice are pivotal aspects during land transactions. Moreover, land transactions are co-evolving with the planning process. Landowners exhibit strategic behaviour based on their personal situation and their expectations on uncertain aspects. The strategies are strongly interrelated with the evolution of land use change. Land use changes are both input on which actors base their strategies, as well as the outcome of those strategies. The aspects found in this study were strongly interrelated and changed over time. Some aspects were context dependent, while others are expected to influence land transactions in general. In this light, the strength of a successful planner is twofold: on the one hand a planner needs to be a good communicator; on the other hand a planner should be able to deal with uncertainty and expectations during plan processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Agriculture land assumes different values for different farmland owners. [•] Government recognized market value of farmland capture only partial land value. [•] Social factors influence perception of value of farmland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Conflicts over land have arisen frequently in China during rapid urbanization and have caused adverse impacts. Different from previous researches on land conflict analyzing its causes, types, consequences, methods of assessment and management, this paper develops a new analytic framework from a behavioral perspective based on game theory. The framework concerns the logic and strategy of conflicts of legal land acquisition, and that of illegal land conversion. The paper has established three innovative models: (1) the dynamic model for conflicts of legal land acquisition, (2) the game model of illegal land acquisition and (3) the game model of the black land market. These models are to explain how disputes and conflicts evolve and illustrate the logic and strategy of conflicts between local governments and farmers. Based on the Nash equilibrium of these models, the paper offers some important insights for policy direction in land acquisition and conflict management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Substantial differences in the size of landholdings among cocoa farmers in the Western Region – the last cocoa “frontier” in Ghana – are primarily a result of inheritance practices and the purchase of vast tracts of land by migrants in the initial period of the cocoa boom. Individual accumulation of land over the last decade has mainly taken place via inheritance (among indigenous farmers) without takeovers of land and dispossession of small-scale farmers outside the extended family. Land accumulation among migrant farmers is rare beyond the initial acquisition. Large-scale farmers transfer surplus from their higher volume of cocoa production into investments in non-farm activities and construction of new residential houses—and not in land acquisition based on market transactions. State regulation of the cocoa sector has spurred increased efficiency among private cocoa purchasing companies and thereby reduced the marginalization of farmers with small landholdings by preserving their access to a vital source of income. The unique character of the Ghanaian purchasing system is a major factor behind the relatively stable proportion in the access and control of land for cocoa between extended families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Land acquisition is the primary means used by governments to meet increasing land demand driven by rapid economic and urban growth in China. Since development is prohibited on non-state-owned land, land acquisition in which landownership is converted from collective communes to the state shall take place prior to any land construction. This paper reviews institutional structure governing land acquisition in pre- and post-reform eras and examines consequences and impacts associated with or derived from land acquisition. It is concluded that land acquisition (1) has been used heavily by local governments to fuel urban development and finance infrastructure provision and (2) has resulted in increasing social tension and injustice that may impose a long-term threat to stability and sustainable development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Land pooling can be a more inclusive alternative to land acquisition for planned urban expansion or renewal. • Analysis of data from 1200 households in Thimphu, Bhutan, shows land values increased by 13% after land pooling, driven by urbanization over time. • Community feedback shows not all households have access to high-quality services that were to be provided, particularly drainage and sewerage. • Land pooling policies in developing Asia should allow for long-term master planning and include provisions for low-income households. Land pooling can potentially be an effective strategy for public infrastructure projects, especially in small but growing cities where rural-to-urban transition gives rise to the prospect of well-planned greenfield development. Seen as a more inclusive and less costly alternative to land acquisition, land pooling has been used for urbanization projects in Japan, Germany, Korea, United States, Australia, India and Thailand, among others. However, little empirical evidence exists on the experience of communities who participate in land pooling—particularly in developing Asia. This paper reviews the literature to compare outcomes of land acquisition and land pooling; presents a simple model to illustrate the gains from land pooling; and, to evaluate land pooling in practice, uses an original primary data set from 1200 households in four Local Area Plans (LAPs) in southern Thimphu, Bhutan, to assess land price growth as well as project beneficiary satisfaction with the consultation, planning, and construction phases of a land pooling project. Results indicate that land prices in the LAPs increased, due in part to additional public services but in large part to a rise in urbanization over time. Among original landowners, results from a community feedback survey show that not all households have access to the services that were to be provided when land pooling was implemented. Thus, land pooling participants benefited from the increased land prices but not all were satisfied with the quality of works, particularly in terms of a lack of maintenance and recreational areas. Increased property prices also have implications for the availability and affordability of rental housing, as no pooled land was reserved for low-income housing in the LAPs. The case study has implications for government and multilateral development bank policy for land pooling and similar mechanisms for planned urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Land acquisition for urbanization caused huge loss of farmland in suburban Hanoi, Vietnam. • Land acquisition policy was accused of disrupting peri-urban livelihoods. • This case study shows how this claim is misleading. • An early livelihood transitions on the urban fringes, in which farmers found new means of livelihood because of urbanized factors. • This early transition helped most local laborers prepare to move on from farming when land acquisition policies were implemented. Over the last two decades, land acquisition for urbanization has caused a huge loss of farmland on the fringes of Hanoi, Vietnam. Previous studies have often criticized this policy for pushing farmers out of farming and disrupting peri-urban endogenous development. This study provides a case report of a peri-urban commune in western Hanoi to show how this claim is misleading. We found that livelihood transitions in this commune took place early on, and this helped most local laborers prepare to move on from farming when urbanization sped up and land acquisition policies were implemented. As a result, they were able to adapt to farmland loss without experiencing major difficulties and to transform their livelihoods for the better. This early transition was popular in the peri-urban context of northern Vietnam, where the inherent lack of employment and income from farming as well as the favorable location induced local laborers to go beyond the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. They actively took advantage of the changes around them to find new means of livelihood in order to earn higher incomes. This study calls for improvements in the compensation scheme and urban planning processes to make urbanization and land acquisition policies work for people on the fringes of cities in northern Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analyse the factors underlying landowners' preferences for compensation in case of land acquisition. • A contingent ranking experiment was conducted with landowners facing imminent displacement. • Landowners with more land or education tend to favour monetary compensation. • Those with lower education or less land tend to favour housing and self-employment options. • Understanding preference heterogeneity critical for making rehabilitation and resettlement policies targeted and effective. Land acquisition policies, upon which future land use patterns in India depend, are controversially tied to the question of whether to provide monetary or non-monetary compensation to affected landowners. However, turning to the preferences of landowners for answers only serves to complicate matters, as these are not homogenous on the question. This implies there is a need to identify the underlying factors giving rise to this preference heterogeneity, in order to develop more effective and efficient policy. This paper aims to address this gap using a contingent ranking experiment to study landowner disposition toward a range of compensation options, presented in a survey conducted in an 'about-to-be-submerged' region of a large, multi-stage irrigation project in India. Rankings were based on a selection of six compensation options, constituting different combinations of the attributes - cash, land, housing and self-employment. While the results suggest that landowners generally prefer non-monetary compensation, both the size of landholding and level of education of the landholder appear to influence the preferences for different compensation options. We find that landowners with more land or education tended to favour monetary compensation, while those with lower education or less land tended to favour housing and self-employment options. We close the text by exploring possible explanations for this specific form of heterogeneity, including access to information, to networks and capacities for income generation, and providing some reflections on the implications of these results for ensuring that rehabilitation and resettlement policies are both well targeted and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This research examines resettled villagers' transformation and adaptation in concentrated resettlement communities. • Principal component analysis and descriptive comparison were conducted on 300 surveys in Nanjing. • Post-resettlement adaptation depends on specific geographical, environmental, and economic conditions. • Resettlement policy environment now faces two paradigm changes. This research examines the socioeconomic transformation and adaptation to urban life among resettled villagers who live in government-designated concentrated resettlement communities, by articulating the interrelated roles played by individual households, resettlement communities, the local state and the market. Principal component analysis and descriptive comparison were conducted to assess resettled villagers' opinions on their economic, social, and environmental adaptations, based on 300 structured survey samples collected from two concentrated resettlement communities in Nanjing. The study argues that legacy from the past rural collective institution, rural land property rights ambiguity, and complicated interests in land conversion all contextualize villager resettlement and adaptation. Post-resettlement adaptation depends on specific geographical, environmental, and economic conditions. An approach open to resettled villagers' opinions and concerns would help to achieve an equitable and sustainable realization of resettled villagers' transformation and adaptation. The research urges that resettlement policy environment now faces two paradigm changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]