Land ownership and foreigners: a comparative analysis of regulatory approaches to the acquisition and use of land by foreigners

Foreign ownership of land has historically been a sensitive political issue,and measures to regulate or restrict the practice in one form or another have figured prominently in national land laws. The study by Hodgson, Cullinan and Campbell provides an overview of the various regulatory approaches that have been devised to deal with this issue. The authors do not propose a definitive answer as to the desirability of restricting or regulating foreign ownership, a judgement which they suggest will be influenced by a wide variety of economic, political, cultural and geographic factors in different countries. Instead, they put forward a framework for analysis and a representative sample of legal techniques and strategies that can be used to tailor specific solutions in different contexts.