Women's property rights and gendered policies: implications for women's long-term welfare in rural Tanzania

J Dev Stud. 2011;47(1):1-30. doi: 10.1080/00220381003600366.

Abstract

This paper evaluates effects of community-level women's property and inheritance rights on women's economic outcomes using a 13 year longitudinal panel from rural Tanzania. In the preferred model specification, inverse probability weighting is applied to a woman-level fixed effects model to control for individual-level time invariant heterogeneity and attrition. Results indicate that changes in women's property and inheritance rights are significantly associated with women's employment outside the home, self-employment and earnings. Results are not limited to sub-groups of marginalised women. Findings indicate lack of gender equity in sub-Saharan Africa may inhibit economic development for women and society as a whole.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Government* / history
  • History, 20th Century
  • History, 21st Century
  • Public Assistance* / economics
  • Public Assistance* / history
  • Public Assistance* / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Public Policy / economics
  • Public Policy / history
  • Public Policy / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Social Welfare / economics
  • Social Welfare / ethnology
  • Social Welfare / history
  • Social Welfare / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Social Welfare / psychology
  • Tanzania / ethnology
  • Wills* / economics
  • Wills* / ethnology
  • Wills* / history
  • Wills* / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Wills* / psychology
  • Women / education
  • Women / history
  • Women / psychology
  • Women's Health* / ethnology
  • Women's Health* / history
  • Women's Rights* / economics
  • Women's Rights* / education
  • Women's Rights* / history
  • Women's Rights* / legislation & jurisprudence