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In This Issue...Links to the News:  March 11, 2016

Nigeria needs Secure Property Rights for Development
2011 International Property Rights Index ranks 129 nations, 97 percent of world’s GDP

May 16, 2011 (Lagos, Nigeria)—The Initiative for Public Policy Analysis
(IPPA) today announces the release of the 2011 International Property
Rights Index (IRPI). The IRPI measures the intellectual and physical
property rights of 129 nations from around the world.

This year, the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis including sixty-seven
international organizations, partnered with the Property Rights Alliance
in Washington, DC and its Hernando de Soto Fellowship program to produce the fifth annual IPRI.

The IPRI uses three primary areas of property rights to create a composite score: Legal and Political Environment (LP), Physical Property Rights (PPR), and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Most importantly, the IPRI emphasizes the great economic differences between countries with strong property rights and those without. Nations falling in the first quintile enjoy an average national GDP per capita of $38,350; more than double that of the second quintile with an average of $18,701. The third, fourth, and fifth quintiles average $9,316, $5,065, and $4,785 respectively.

Property rights continue to be a challenge in Nigeria. In this report,
Nigeria scored 3.9 out of a possible 10 to occupy the 120th position out
of the 129 nations studied.

“The 2011 report further shows that Nigeria
has a lot to do to improve its property rights situation. Insecure
property rights has increased the transaction costs and consequently
undermined the nation’s potentials. The connection between secure property right and economic development is widely acknowledged. The import of this report is that Nigeria and Nigerians continue to miss out of the benefits of secure property right,” says Thompson Ayodele the Executive Director of IPPA.

Nigeria witnesses a marginal improvement in two of the three components, exception being the Legal and Political Environment (LP) which decreased from 3.1 to 2.9. The Physical Property Rights (PPR) and the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) components rose from 4.5 and 3.8 in 2010 to 4.6 and 4.1 in 2011 respectively. The marginal improvement is however overshadowed by Nigeria’s overall performance which is below the regional average.

“The various efforts at achieving development might be a mirage if
appropriate attention is not placed on secure property rights regime. This is because insecure property rights regime scares foreign investors and the benefits that should accrue there from will continue to elude the country,” says Olusegun Sotola a Research Fellow with IPPA.

The International Property Rights Index provides the public, researchers
and policymakers, from across the globe, with a tool for comparative
analysis and future research on global property rights. The Index seeks to assist underperforming countries to develop robust economies through an emphasis on sound property law.

The Initiative for Public Policy Analysis (IPPA), one of the 2010 top and
influential 25 think tanks in Sub-Saharan Africa and the 2005
award-winning organization, is Nigeria's public policy research institute
or think tank. Its major concern is with the principles and institutions
that enhance economic development and wealth creation, with particular focus on Africa and Nigeria.

To view the 2011 IPRI in its entirety, visit www.propertyrightsalliance.org

For media enquiries
Contact: Thompson Ayodele
Tel +234.1.791.0959 , +234.80.2302.5079
Email: info@ippanigeria.org