Examining Gender Inequalities in Land Rights Indicators in Asia

40 Pages Posted: 10 Apr 2015

See all articles by Caitlin Kieran

Caitlin Kieran

CGIAR - CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Kathryn Sproule

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Cheryl R. Doss

University of Oxford - Department of International Development

Agnes R. Quisumbing

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Sung Mi Kim

Stanford University, Department of Political Science

Date Written: March 23, 2015

Abstract

This paper reviews the available data on men’s and women’s land rights, identifies what can and cannot be measured by these data, and uses these measures to assess the gaps in the land rights of women and men. Building on the conceptual framework developed in 2014 by Doss et al., we utilize nationally representative individual- and plot-level data from Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste to calculate five indicators: incidence of ownership by sex; distribution of ownership by sex; and distribution of plots, mean plot size, and distribution of land area, all by sex of owner. The results show large gender gaps in landownership across countries. However, critical data gaps cloud our understanding of land rights and why women fare better or worse in certain countries. In particular, the limited information on joint and individual ownership indicates that this is an important area for future data collection and analysis.

Keywords: gender, land, ownership, Asia

Suggested Citation

Kieran, Caitlin and Sproule, Kathryn and Doss, Cheryl R. and Quisumbing, Agnes R. and Kim, Sung Mi, Examining Gender Inequalities in Land Rights Indicators in Asia (March 23, 2015). IFPRI Discussion Paper 01429, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2583817

Caitlin Kieran (Contact Author)

CGIAR - CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets ( email )

United States

Kathryn Sproule

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

Cheryl R. Doss

University of Oxford - Department of International Development ( email )

3 Mansfield Road
Oxford, OX1 3TB
United Kingdom

Agnes R. Quisumbing

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

Sung Mi Kim

Stanford University, Department of Political Science ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

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