Examining gender inequalities in land rights indicators in Asia

Kieran, Caitlin; Sproule, Kathryn; Doss, Cheryl; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; and Kim, Sung Mi. 2015. Examining gender inequalities in land rights indicators in Asia. Presented at the 29th Triennial International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE), August 8 -14, 2015 in Milan, Italy. https://purl.umn.edu/211848

A broad consensus has emerged that strengthening women’s property rights is crucial for reducing poverty and achieving equitable growth. Despite its importance, few nationally representative data exist on women’s property rights in Asia, hindering formulation of appropriate policies to reduce gender gaps in land rights. This paper reviews existing micro-level, large sample data on men’s and women’s control of land, using this information to assess gaps in land rights. Utilizing nationally representative individual- and plot-level data from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, we calculate five indicators: incidence of landownership and distribution of landownership by sex, and distribution of plots owned, mean plot size, and distribution of land area, all by sex of owner. The results reveal large gender gaps in landownership across countries. However, the limited information on joint and individual ownership are among the most critical data gaps and are an important area for future data collection and analysis. Kieran, Caitlin; Sproule, Kathryn; Doss, Cheryl; Quisumbing, Agnes; Kim, Sung