Gender Discrimination and Common Property Resources

29 Pages Posted: 11 Jan 2016

See all articles by Marco Casari

Marco Casari

University of Bologna - Department of Economics

Maurizio Lisciandra

LUMSA University

Abstract

In an open economy with common property resources at the community level, marriage and migratory decisions crucially depend on inheritance rules on the commons. Motivated by the traditional management of the commons in the Italian Alps, we present a model that fits the evolution of property rights observed over six centuries. Women's rights over the commons were progressively eroded from the Middle Ages until 1800, when there was an almost universal adoption of a patrilineal inheritance system. Communities switched from an egalitarian system to a patrilineal inheritance system in an attempt to protect the per capita endowment of common resources from outside immigration. The model shows that inheritance rules have clear-cut implications for marriage strategies, migratory flows, and fertility rates.

Keywords: inheritance, commons, migration, institutions, property rights

JEL Classification: J13, J16, Q24

Suggested Citation

Casari, Marco and Lisciandra, Maurizio, Gender Discrimination and Common Property Resources. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9601, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2713022 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2713022

Marco Casari (Contact Author)

University of Bologna - Department of Economics ( email )

Strada Maggiore 45
Bologna, 40125
Italy

Maurizio Lisciandra

LUMSA University

Department of Law, Economics, and Communication
Via Filippo Parlatore 65
Palermo, 90145
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.lumsa.it/en

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