Is Women's Ownership of Land a Panacea in Developing Countries? Evidence from Land-Owning Farm Households in Malawi

35 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2014

See all articles by Sumon K. Bhaumik

Sumon K. Bhaumik

Aston University - Aston Business School; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Stephen M. Ross School of Business, William Davidson Institute

Ralitza D. Dimova

Brunel University London - Economics and Finance; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Ira N. Gang

Rutgers University - Economics Department

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Abstract

Our analysis of a rich representative household survey for Malawi, where patrilineal and matrilineal institutions coexist, suggests that (a) in matrilineal societies the likelihood of cash crop cultivation by a household increases with the extent of land owned (or de facto controlled) by males, and (b) and cultivation of cash crops increases household welfare. The policy implication is that facilitating female ownership of assets through informal and formal institutions does not, on its own, increase welfare, if women do not have access to complementary resources that are needed to generate income from those assets.

Keywords: female ownership of assets, informal institutions, cash crops, household welfare

JEL Classification: Q12, O2, O13, J16

Suggested Citation

Bhaumik, Sumon K. and Bhaumik, Sumon K. and Dimova, Ralitza D. and Gang, Ira N., Is Women's Ownership of Land a Panacea in Developing Countries? Evidence from Land-Owning Farm Households in Malawi. IZA Discussion Paper No. 7907, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2389255 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2389255

Sumon K. Bhaumik (Contact Author)

Aston University - Aston Business School ( email )

Aston Triangle
Birmingham, West Midlands B47ET
United Kingdom

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Stephen M. Ross School of Business, William Davidson Institute

724 E. University Ave.
Wyly Hall
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1234
United States

Ralitza D. Dimova

Brunel University London - Economics and Finance ( email )

Uxbridge UB8 3PH
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Ira N. Gang

Rutgers University - Economics Department ( email )

75 Hamilton Street
ECONOMICS, New Jersey Hall, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1248
United States
732-932-7363 (Phone)
732-932-7416 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://econweb.rutgers.edu/gang/research

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