Gender and the Distribution of Wealth in Developing Countries

women, assets, gender inequality, marital regimes, inheritance, land, Latin America, Africa, law

Gender and asset ownership : a guide to collecting individual-level data

Ownership and control over assets such as land and housing provide direct and indirect benefits to individuals and households, including a secure place to live, the means of a livelihood, protection during emergencies, and collateral for credit that can be used for investment or consumption. Unfortunately, few studies - either at the micro or macro levels- examine the gender dimensions of asset ownership. This paper sets out a framework for researchers who are interested in collecting data on individual level asset ownership and analyzing the gender asset gap. It reviews best practices in existing surveys with respect to data collection on assets at both the household and individual levels, and shows how various questions on individually owned assets can be incorporated with a minimum of effort and cost into existing multi-topic household surveys, using examples of three Living Standard Measurement Study surveys: the 1998-99 Ghana survey, the 2000 Guatemala survey, and the 1997-98 Vietnam survey questionnaires. The analysis shows that it is feasible to add a minimal set of questions to enable calculation of the gender asset gap. Adding a series of extra questions will permit a more satisfactory and nuanced analysis of asset acquisition, use, disposition, and valuation - information that is critical for policies promoting gender equality, poverty reduction, and economic growth.Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Political Systems and Analysis,Politics and Government,Political Economy,Economic Theory&Research

Gender and the distribution of wealth in developing countries

Only recently has it been recognized that women may not share in the wealth of men, even within the same household or family. Moreover, there is growing evidence that the gender distribution of wealth matters. This paper first reviews the available evidence for developing countries on the gender asset gap and finds that it is significant. It then considers the constraints on women’s asset ownership with particular attention to the role of legal marital and inheritance regimes. The paper then turns to a more detailed examination of women’s land ownership in Latin America and Africa. The final section considers the impact of women’s land ownership on household income and welfare. – women ; assets ; gender inequality ; marital regimes ; inheritance ; land ; Latin America ; Africa ; la

Rural women and the agrarian reforms in Peru, Chile and Cuba

Esta contribución reproduce uno de los primeros artículos que analiza la participación de las mujeres rurales en la reforma agraria peruana, publicado en 1983, con un prefacio nuevo de la autora. Se argumenta que el cambio socio-económico no es neutral al género; más bien, reformas que se asumen neutrales pueden tener un impacto negativo sobre la posición de las mujeres. Las reformas agrarias de Perú y de Chile de los años 1970s no contaron con una política dirigida a incorporar a las mujeres, en contraste con Cuba, donde la participación de ellas en las nuevas cooperativas de producción, de este periodo, fue una meta estatal. Como resultado, fueron pocas las mujeres que se beneficiaron directamente de estas reformas en estos dos países, en comparación con el caso cubano. El mecanismo principal de exclusión fueron los requisitos para ser beneficiario, especialmente que estos sean jefes de hogar, lo cual tuvo efectos negativos no solamente para las mujeres, sino también para el buen funcionamiento de las cooperativas. Entre los factores que explican cómo las mujeres llegaron a ser alrededor de un tercio de los socios de las cooperativas de producción cubanas, e igualmente del éxito relativo de estas cooperativas, fue que las mujeres entraron a ser socias de estas a nombre propio, además de la atención que se prestó a las responsabilidades domésticas de ellas en las nuevas comunidades agrarias, y al apoyo y la buena coordinación entre la organización campesina y la organización de mujeres.This contribution reproduces one of the first articles analyzing rural women’s participation in the Peruvian agrarian reform, published in 1983, along with a new preface by the author. It is argued that processes of socio-economic change are not gender neutral; supposedly gender-neutral reforms may have a negative impact on the position of women. Neither the Peruvian nor Chilean agrarian reforms of the 1970s had an explicit policy to incorporate women into the reform, in contrast to Cuba in this period, where the participation of women in the new production cooperatives was a policy goal. As a result, few women were direct beneficiaries in Peru or Chile in comparison to Cuba. The criteria for being a beneficiary of the reform was the main mechanism of exclusion in the former two countries, specifically, the requirement that these be household heads. The exclusion of women had negative consequences for the success of the production cooperatives. In Cuba, women became cooperative members on their own account; moreover, attention to their domestic responsibilities in the new agrarian communities that were created, along with the support of and effective coordination between the peasant’s and women’s associations, largely explain both how women came to be over one-third of the members and the early success of the cooperativization process

Female Land Rights and Rural Household Incomes in Brazil, Paraguay and Peru

This paper explores the determinants of female land rights and their impact on household income levels among owner-operated farms in Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. Previous studies in Latin America suggest that the gender of the household head is not a significant predictor of household income, not unsurprising given the ambiguities with which self-declared headship is associated. We hypothesize that female land rights, by increasing women's options, are a positive determinant of household income, but given the disadvantages that they face as farmers, that their land rights will more likely impact upon off-farm rather than farm income. Regression analysis indicates that female land rights are positively related to off-farm income in Peru and Paraguay, but significantly so only in the case of dual-headed households in Peru where the bargaining power thesis is operative. They are negatively associated with farm income in both countries and with farm revenue in Brazil.Gender, Land Rights, Household Income, Female-headed Households, Intrahousehold Bargaining Power, Latin America

The Gender Asset Gap: Land in Latin America

Summary. -The gender asset gap in Latin America with respect to ownership of land is significant. In few countries do women constitute even one-quarter of the landowners. Gender inequality in land ownership is related to male preference in inheritance, male privilege in marriage, male bias in community and state programs of land distribution as well as gender bias in the land market, with women less likely than men to be successful buyers. But there are also important differences by gender in how land is acquired. Inheritance is the primary means by which most women become landowners; men are much more likely than women to acquire land through its distribution by communities or the state and via the market. Factors contributing toward a trend toward greater gender equity in land inheritance and in recent state programs are highlighted

Female Land Rights and Rural Household Incomes in Brazil, Paraguay and Peru

This paper explores the determinants of female land rights and their impact on household income levels among owner-operated farms in Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. Previous studies in Latin America suggest that the gender of the household head is not a significant predictor of household income, not unsurprising given the ambiguities with which self-declared headship is associated. We hypothesize that female land rights, by increasing women’s options, are a positive determinant of household income, but given the disadvantages that they face as farmers, that their land rights will more likely impact upon off-farm rather than farm income. Regression analysis indicates that female land rights are positively related to off-farm income in Peru and Paraguay, but significantly so only in the case of dual-headed households in Peru where the bargaining power thesis is operative. They are negatively associated with farm income in both countries and with farm revenue in Brazil