Women's Property Rights, Factors of Production, and Economic Growth

Abstract

In many countries, women have fewer property rights than men. This lowers their incentive to invest in both physical and human capital, hindering growth in countries with unequal laws. We assess the relationship between women’s property rights and economic growth in a large panel of countries and find women’s property rights are vital for development. In addition, we present evidence that women’s property rights may affect economic growth by making human capital more productive.

Keywords: gender, economic growth, Property Rights, institutions