WOMEN’S PROPERTY, MOBILITY AND DECISION-MAKING: EVIDENCE FROM RURAL KARNATAKA, INDIA
Hema Swaminathan, Rahul Lahoti, Suchitra J. Y.Centre for Public Policy
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Annual Conference of the International Association for Feminist EconomicsBarcelona, June 27 2012
Motivation• Women’s asset ownership has several welfare
outcomes– Greater control over income– Improvements in prenatal care, children’s schooling
status, nutrition– Bargaining power – Reduced experience of violence
Property - Decision making - Welfare
Women’s asset
ownership
+ Bargaining power
(participation in decision-
making)
+ Schooling status
+ Nutrition
- Violence
Literature• Allendorf (2007): Nepal DHS – land ownership
enhances decision-making power pertaining to own health, household purchases, family visits
• Garikipati (2009): South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh – land + other productive assets leads to greater autonomy in household decision-making and labour markets
• Datta (2006): North Indian city of Chandigarh – joint titling policy enhances participation in household decision-making
Research Question
• What is the impact of women’s property ownership on their mobility and decision-making status?
Data and Methods• Data from the Gender Asset Gap Project (2010-
11)– Karnataka Household Asset Survey (KHAS)– Rural area focus
• Asset ownership of individuals– Enables a true gendered analysis instead of having to
rely on analysis based on sex of household head
• Valuation of assets
Asset Ownership
• Principal residence• Agricultural land
– Together account for 87% of gross physical worth in rural areas
• Two specifications:– Incidence of ownership – Share in household worth of these assets
Decision-making• Whether to be employed (1=decide
independently, 0 otherwise)
• Accessing health services (1=decide independently, 0 otherwise)
• Use of money (2=have money and decide independently, 1=have money and cannot decide independently, 0=no money)
Mobility
• Mobility – Market– Health facility– Outside the community
• Index combining the above – 1 if travel to all three alone, 0 otherwise
Empirical Specification
Endogeneity Concerns
• Instruments (?)
• Modes of asset acquisition– Use of assets acquired only exogenously by women:
natal inheritance, inheritance upon death of spouse, government programmes, gifts
– Assets acquired through modes that could be endogenous excluded: self-acquisition, natal inheritance of spouse
RESULTS
Incidence of Asset Ownership by Sex (%)
Asset categoryAll
menAll
women
Currently married women
Currently single
women
Principal residence 75 24 13 74
Agricultural land 60 13 6 40Total number of respondents 2,227 2,450 1,994 456
Asset Ownership and Mobility (%)
Asset ownership
Women allowed to travel alone to
Market Health facilityOther places
outside communityAll three
places
Women in households that do not own land or residence 65 63 57 50Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 60 53 53 46Women owners of either land or residence 84 76 76 70
All women
Asset ownership
Women allowed to travel alone to
Market Health facilityOther places
outside communityAll three
placesWomen in households that do not own land or residence 59 57 50 42Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 58 51 50 44Women owners of either land or residence 81 69 66 64
Currently married women
Asset Ownership and Decision-making (%)
All women
Currently married women
Asset ownership
Women's ability to make decisions aloneWhether to be
employedAccessing health
facilitySpending money of
their ownWomen in households that do not own land or residence 32 29 48Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 19 20 46Women owners of either land or residence 72 54 73
Asset ownership
Women's ability to make decisions alone
Whether to be employed
Accessing health facility
Spending money of their own
Women in households that do not own land or residence 20 16 39Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 13 16 43Women owners of either land or residence 36 33 65
Exogenously Acquired Assets
All women Currently married
womenOwning either house or land 15 6
Mean share in gross worth of house and land 7 2
Summary Statistics
Property Ownership, Mobility, and Decision-making: Marginal Effects
All women Owner of land or houseShare in worth of house
and landMobility 0.092*** 0.091*Employment 0.171*** 0.140***Access to health service 0.083*** 0.033Have money and can decide 0.100*** 0.098*
Currently married women Owner of land or houseShare in worth of house
and landMobility 0.134*** 0.299***Employment 0.074** 0.077*Access to health service 0.081** 0.142***Have money and can decide 0.092 0.132
0.1
.2.3
.4.5
.6.7
.8.9
1P
red
icte
d p
rob
ab
ility
(H
igh
ly m
ob
ile a
nd
ind
ep
en
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eci
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nm
aki
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)
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Women's share in property value
Mobility EmploymentHealth Money
Source: Authors' calculations. KHAS 2010-11.
Predicted Probability for Wealth Shares, All Women
0.1
.2.3
.4.5
.6.7
.8.9
1P
red
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d p
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ab
ility
(H
igh
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bili
ty a
nd
ind
ep
en
de
nt d
eci
sio
nm
aki
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)
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1Women's share in property value
Mobility EmploymentHealth Money
Source: Authors' calculations. KHAS 2010-11.
Predicted Probability for Wealth Shares, Currently Married Women
Other determinants – Incidence specification
Variables
All women Currently married women
Mobility EmploymentHealth service
Use of money Mobility Employment
Health service
Use of money
Occupation (base: homemaker)Wage employed (+) *** (+) ** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ** (+) **Self employed (+) *** (+) * (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ***Casual worker (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ***Contributing family worker (+) *** (+) ** (+) *** (+) ** (+) * (+) ***Education (base: illiterate)Secondary (+) *Higher secondary (+) * (+) *Diploma and above (+) ** (+) ** (+) ** (+) ***Age (+) *** (+) *** (+) ** (+) ** (+) *** (+) *** (+) ** (+) **Number of observations 2,427 2,425 2,417 2,422 1,977 1,976 1,972 1,974
Other determinants – Incidence specification
Variables
All women Currently married women
Mobility EmploymentHealth service
Use of money Mobility Employment
Health service
Use of money
Currently married (base: currently single) (-) *** (-) *** (-) *** (-) ***Spouse present (-) * (-)*** (-)*** (-)***Islam (base: Hindu) (-) *** (-) ** (-) ***Caste (base: Forward Caste and other)Backward and Other Backward Caste (-) ** (-) * (-) * (-) *Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (-) ** (-) *No. adult men in hh (-) *** (-) *** (-) *** (-) * (-) *No. adult women in hh (-) ** (-) **Household wealth (base: bottom 20%)Middle 40% (-) ** (-) ** (-) *** (-) ***Top 40% (-) *** (-) *** (-) * (-) *** (-) * Number of observations 2,427 2,425 2,417 2,422 1,977 1,976 1,972 1,974
Concluding thoughts• Vast gender asset gap prevails in home and land
ownership
• Women’s channels of asset acquisition overall are restricted
• Property ownership enhances their ability to travel alone and independently make decisions in areas important to their lives
• Role of employment – any form of employment improves autonomy
• Education – not as strong an impact as expected
• Household economic status – negative impact
Thank You!
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http://genderassetgap.iimb.ernet.in
Indian Institute of Management BangaloreBannerghatta Road, Bangalore – 560 076, INDIA
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