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

Arbeitspapier

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.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 7907

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets ; Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
• Subject: female ownership of assets ; informal institutions ; cash crops ; household welfare

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bhaumik, Sumon K. ; Dimova, Ralitza ; Gang, Ira N.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2014

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/93342
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET