WOMEN

1
WOMENs 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 Economics
• Barcelona, June 27 2012

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Motivation

• Womens asset ownership has several welfare
  outcomes
• Greater control over income
• Improvements in prenatal care, childrens
  schooling status, nutrition
• Bargaining power
• Reduced experience of violence

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Property - Decision making - Welfare
Schooling status
Womens asset ownership
Bargaining power (participation in
decision-making)
Nutrition
- Violence
4
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

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Research Question

• What is the impact of womens property ownership
  on their mobility and decision-making status?

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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

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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

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Decision-making

• Whether to be employed (1decide independently, 0
  otherwise)
• Accessing health services (1decide
  independently, 0 otherwise)
• Use of money (2have money and decide
  independently, 1have money and cannot decide
  independently, 0no money)

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Mobility

• Mobility
• Market
• Health facility
• Outside the community
• Index combining the above 1 if travel to all
  three alone, 0 otherwise

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Empirical Specification

•  

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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

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RESULTS
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Incidence of Asset Ownership by Sex ()
Asset category All men All women Currently married women Currently single women
Principal residence 75 24 13 74
Agricultural land 60 13 6 40
Total number of respondents 2,227 2,450 1,994 456
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Asset Ownership and Mobility ()
All women
Asset ownership Women allowed to travel alone to Women allowed to travel alone to Women allowed to travel alone to Women allowed to travel alone to
Asset ownership Market Health facility Other places outside community All three places
Women in households that do not own land or residence 65 63 57 50
Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 60 53 53 46
Women owners of either land or residence 84 76 76 70
Currently married women
Asset ownership Women allowed to travel alone to Women allowed to travel alone to Women allowed to travel alone to Women allowed to travel alone to
Asset ownership Market Health facility Other places outside community All three places
Women in households that do not own land or residence 59 57 50 42
Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 58 51 50 44
Women owners of either land or residence 81 69 66 64
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Asset Ownership and Decision-making ()
All women
Asset ownership Women's ability to make decisions alone Women's ability to make decisions alone Women's ability to make decisions alone
Asset ownership Whether to be employed Accessing health facility Spending money of their own
Women in households that do not own land or residence 32 29 48
Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 19 20 46
Women owners of either land or residence 72 54 73
Currently married women
Asset ownership Women's ability to make decisions alone Women's ability to make decisions alone Women's ability to make decisions alone
Asset ownership Whether to be employed Accessing health facility Spending money of their own
Women in households that do not own land or residence 20 16 39
Non-owning women in households that own land or residence 13 16 43
Women owners of either land or residence 36 33 65
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Summary Statistics
Exogenously Acquired Assets
  All women Currently married women
Owning either house or land 15 6
Mean share in gross worth of house and land 7 2
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Property Ownership, Mobility, and
Decision-making Marginal Effects
All women Owner of land or house Share in worth of house and land
Mobility 0.092 0.091
Employment 0.171 0.140
Access to health service 0.083 0.033
Have money and can decide 0.100 0.098

Currently married women Owner of land or house Share in worth of house and land
Mobility 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
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Predicted Probability for Wealth Shares, All Women
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Predicted Probability for Wealth Shares,
Currently Married Women
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Other determinants Incidence specification
Variables All women All women All women All women Currently married women Currently married women Currently married women Currently married women
Variables Mobility Employment Health 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
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Other determinants Incidence specification
Variables All women All women All women All women Currently married women Currently married women Currently married women Currently married women
Variables Mobility Employment Health 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) 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) 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
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Concluding thoughts

• Vast gender asset gap prevails in home and land
  ownership
• Womens 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

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• Role of employment any form of employment
  improves autonomy
• Education not as strong an impact as expected
• Household economic status negative impact

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Thank You! For the country studies comparative
report see http//genderassetgap.iimb.ernet.in
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Bannergha
tta Road, Bangalore 560 076, INDIA www.iimb.ern
et.in