Property Rights and Gender Bias: Evidence from Land Reform in West Bengal
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 11,
no. 2, April 2019
(pp. 205-37)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We examine intra-household gender-differentiated effects of property rights securitisation following West Bengal's tenancy registration program, using two independently gathered datasets. In both samples, higher program implementation increased male child survival rates in families without a firstborn son, but not in those that already have a firstborn male child. We argue this reflects intensified son preference as land rights improve, ostensibly to ensure a male heir to inherit land. Consistent with this, girls with firstborn brothers also experience increased survival, but not girls with firstborn sisters. The gender bias manifests both in infant mortality rates and the sex ratio at birth.Citation
Bhalotra, Sonia, Abhishek Chakravarty, Dilip Mookherjee, and Francisco J. Pino. 2019. "Property Rights and Gender Bias: Evidence from Land Reform in West Bengal." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11 (2): 205-37. DOI: 10.1257/app.20160262Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D13 Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation
- I12 Health Behavior
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
- P14 Capitalist Systems: Property Rights
- Q15 Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
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