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

Sumon Kumar Bhaumik, Ralitza Dimova, Ira N. Gang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Our analysis of a rich representative household survey for Malawi, where patrilineal and matrilineal institutions coexist, suggests that: in matrilineal societies the likelihood of high-value crop cultivation by a household increases with the extent of land owned by males, while the income generated from high-value crop production decreases with the amount of land owned by females; and the cultivation of high-value 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 when appropriate complementary resources and institutions are absent.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)242-253
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Development Studies
Volume52
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development

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