IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v138y2024ics0264837724000048.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does joint land ownership empower rural women socio-economically? Evidence from Eastern Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Ghimire, Puspa Raj
  • Devkota, Niranjan
  • Marasini, Tek
  • Khanal, Ghanashyan
  • Deuja, Jagat
  • Khadka, Umesh

Abstract

Joint Land Ownership (JLO) is increasingly important for empowering women and improving their socioeconomic well-being. However, there is a lack of empirical research on this topic. Utilizing panel data from 2015 to 2020 and employing the Binary Logit Model, this study examines the socioeconomic and empowerment status of rural women who have JLO in the Sunsari district of Nepal. Particularly, we used a quasi-experimental research design and pretest and posttest research models to assess the empowerment status of rural women before and after the implementation of JLO. The results indicate a significant increase in monthly savings (270%) among women who have a JLO, as well as improved access to credit (241%), income (87%), participation in cooperatives (69%), entrepreneurship (56%), decision-making (56%), occupation (22%), and overall improvement in their socioeconomic conditions (16%). The women's participation in the JLO program also has increased by 77% in rural areas and 23% in urban areas. Furthermore, logistic regression results show that Rural Women Empowerment (RWE), resulting from JLO, varies significantly across different ethnic groups (β = −0.724, P < 0.01), land sizes (β = 0.117, P < 0.01), household sizes (β = 0.886, P < 0.01), household decision-making (β = −1.814, P < 0.05), and occupations (β = −0.868, P < 0.01). Our findings suggest that JLO significantly impacts rural women's empowerment, gender equality, and overall development, thereby assisting in the achievement of several UN Sustainable Development Goals. It emphasizes the need for policy interventions, legal reforms, and awareness-raising efforts to promote and support JLO to empower women and promote inclusive and sustainable rural development.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghimire, Puspa Raj & Devkota, Niranjan & Marasini, Tek & Khanal, Ghanashyan & Deuja, Jagat & Khadka, Umesh, 2024. "Does joint land ownership empower rural women socio-economically? Evidence from Eastern Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:138:y:2024:i:c:s0264837724000048
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107052
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837724000048
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107052?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rao, Nitya, 2017. "Assets, Agency and Legitimacy: Towards a Relational Understanding of Gender Equality Policy and Practice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 43-54.
    2. Ngango, Jules & Hong, Seungjee, 2021. "Impacts of land tenure security on yield and technical efficiency of maize farmers in Rwanda," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. Choumert, Johanna & Phélinas, Pascale, 2015. "Determinants of agricultural land values in Argentina," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 134-140.
    4. Edvin Zhllima & Dorina Pojani & Elvina Merkaj & Drini Imami, 2023. "Unlanded Class: Albania's Gender Gaps in Land Ownership and Inheritance," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 32-63, April.
    5. Anderson, Siwan & Eswaran, Mukesh, 2009. "What determines female autonomy? Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 179-191, November.
    6. Menon, Nidhiya & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana & Nguyen, Huong, 2014. "Women’s Land Rights and Children’s Human Capital in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 18-31.
    7. Simon Hull & Kehinde Babalola & Jennifer Whittal, 2019. "Theories of Land Reform and Their Impact on Land Reform Success in Southern Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-28, November.
    8. Snigdha Chakrabarti & Chaiti Sharmab Biswas, 2012. "An Exploratory Analysis of Women's Empowerment in India: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 164-180, May.
    9. Allendorf, Keera, 2007. "Do Women's Land Rights Promote Empowerment and Child Health in Nepal?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 1975-1988, November.
    10. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Collin, Matthew & Deininger, Klaus & Dercon, Stefan & Sandefur, Justin & Zeitlin, Andrew, 2016. "Small price incentives increase women's access to land titles in Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 107-122.
    11. Mishra, Khushbu & Sam, Abdoul G., 2016. "Does Women’s Land Ownership Promote Their Empowerment? Empirical Evidence from Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 360-371.
    12. Cai, Meina & Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer, 2020. "The politics of land property rights," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 151-167, April.
    13. O'Sullivan,Michael B., 2017. "Gender and property rights in Sub-Saharan Africa : a review of constraints and effective interventions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8250, The World Bank.
    14. Namita Datta, 2006. "Joint Titling — A Win-Win Policy? Gender And Property Rights In Urban Informal Settlements In Chandigarh, India," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1-2), pages 271-298.
    15. Carol Newman & Finn Tarp & Katleen van den Broeck, 2015. "Property Rights and Productivity: The Case of Joint Land Titling in Vietnam," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 91(1), pages 91-105.
    16. Ashish Rai & Niranjan Devkota & Udbodh Bhandari & Udaya Raj Paudel, 2020. "Land Management for Agricultural Entrepreneurship Development: Farmers’ Perspective from Udayapur, Nepal," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(2), pages 612-627.
    17. Jean‐Philippe Platteau, 1996. "The Evolutionary Theory of Land Rights as Applied to Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Critical Assessment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 29-86, January.
    18. Chigbu, Uchendu Eugene, 2019. "Masculinity, men and patriarchal issues aside: How do women’s actions impede women’s access to land? Matters arising from a peri-rural community in Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 39-48.
    19. Lyn Ossome, 2014. "Can the Law Secure Women's Rights to Land in Africa? Revisiting Tensions Between Culture and Land Commercialization," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 155-177, January.
    20. Tonia Warnecke, 2013. "Entrepreneurship and Gender: An Institutional Perspective," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 455-464.
    21. Averi Chakrabarti, 2018. "Female Land Ownership and Fertility in Nepal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(9), pages 1698-1715, September.
    22. Bezabih, Mintewab & Kohlin, Gunnar & Mannberg, Andrea, 2011. "Trust, tenure insecurity, and land certification in rural Ethiopia," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 833-843.
    23. Ashish Rai & Niranjan Devkota & Udbodh Bhandari & Udaya Raj Paudel, 2020. "Land management for agricultural entrepreneurship development: Farmers` perspective from Udayapur, Nepal," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(2), pages 612-627, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Subir Bairagi & Ashok K. Mishra & Dat Q. Tran, 2022. "Disentangling gender‐differentiated impacts on food security and poverty: Empirical evidence from Vietnam," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 493-511, April.
    2. Nayana Bose & Shreyasee Das, 2021. "Women's Inheritance Rights and Fertility Decisions: Evidence from India," DETU Working Papers 2101, Department of Economics, Temple University.
    3. Mara José Montenegro Guerra & Sandeep Mohapatra & Brent Swallow, 2019. "What influence do empowered women have? Land and the reality of women’s relative power in Peru," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1225-1255, December.
    4. My Nguyen & Kien Le, 2023. "The impacts of women's land ownership: Evidence from Vietnam," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 158-177, February.
    5. Han, Wenjing & Zhang, Xiaoling & Zhang, Zhengfeng, 2019. "The role of land tenure security in promoting rural women’s empowerment: Empirical evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 280-289.
    6. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Doss, Cheryl & Theis, Sophie, 2019. "Women's land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: Framework and review of available evidence," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 72-82.
    7. O'Hara, Corey & Clement, Floriane, 2018. "Power as agency: A critical reflection on the measurement of women’s empowerment in the development sector," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 111-123.
    8. Bargain, Olivier & Boutin, Delphine & Champeaux, Hugues, 2019. "Women's political participation and intrahousehold empowerment: Evidence from the Egyptian Arab Spring," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    9. Cuong Viet Nguyen, 2022. "The Impact of Joint Land Titling: Evidence from Vietnam," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 8(2), pages 127-142.
    10. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Doss, Cheryl R. & Theis, Sophie, 2017. "Women’s land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: A framework and review of available evidence," IFPRI discussion papers 1663, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Mishra, Khushbu & Sam, Abdoul G., 2016. "Does Women’s Land Ownership Promote Their Empowerment? Empirical Evidence from Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 360-371.
    12. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Collin, Matthew & Deininger, Klaus & Dercon, Stefan & Sandefur, Justin & Zeitlin, Andrew, 2016. "Small price incentives increase women's access to land titles in Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 107-122.
    13. Kathryn Sproule & Caitlin Kieran & Agnes Quisumbing & Cheryl Doss, 2015. "Gender, Headship, and the Life Cycle: Landownership in Four Asian Countries," Working Papers id:7807, eSocialSciences.
    14. Clémentine Sadania, 2016. "Working and Women’s Empowerment in the Egyptian Household: The Type of Work and Location Matter," Working Papers halshs-01525220, HAL.
    15. Caitlin Kieran & Kathryn Sproule & Cheryl Doss & Agnes Quisumbing & Sung Mi Kim, 2015. "Examining gender inequalities in land rights indicators in Asia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(S1), pages 119-138, November.
    16. Valkonen, Anni, 2021. "Examining sources of land tenure (in)security. A focus on authority relations, state politics, social dynamics and belonging," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    17. Rania Salem & Yuk Fai Cheong & Kathryn M. Yount, 2018. "Is Women’s Work a Pathway to their Agency in Rural Minya, Egypt?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 807-831, April.
    18. Muchomba, Felix M., 2017. "Women’s Land Tenure Security and Household Human Capital: Evidence from Ethiopia’s Land Certification," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 310-324.
    19. Holmelin, Nina B., 2019. "Competing gender norms and social practice in Himalayan farm management," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 85-95.
    20. Sheldon, Hannah & Shwachman Kaminaga, Allison, 2023. "What's in a name? Property titling and women's empowerment in Benin," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:138:y:2024:i:c:s0264837724000048. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.