Property Rights and Gender Bias: Evidence from Land Reform in West Bengal

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhalotra, Sonia; Chakravarty, Abhishek; Mookherjee, Dilip; Pino, Francisco J.
• 署名单位: University of Essex; University of Manchester; Boston University; Universidad de Chile
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20160262
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 205-237
• 关键词: green-revolution; female mortality; tenancy reform; Missing women; PRODUCTIVITY; incentives; EFFICIENCY; reduction; PROGRAMS; impacts

摘要

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. (JEL D13, I12, J16, O15, O17, P14, Q15)