Gender Gaps in Property Ownership in Sub-Saharan Africa
Women's ownership, use, and control over property matter for their well-being and agency and can influence outcomes for the second generation -- women's daughters and sons. Additionally, gender gaps in property ownership induce allocative...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/939291535658711278/Gender-Gaps-in-Property-Ownership-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30325 |
| Summary: | Women's ownership, use, and control
over property matter for their well-being and agency and can
influence outcomes for the second generation -- women's
daughters and sons. Additionally, gender gaps in property
ownership induce allocative inefficiencies and foregone
economic output, thus having economywide implications. This
paper uses data for 28 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to
shine a spotlight on gaps between men and women in land and
housing (property) ownership and analyze patterns across and
within countries. The results indicate that men are about
three times as likely as women to claim sole ownership over
property. Gender gaps are smaller if joint ownership is
taken into consideration, but still materially disadvantage
women. Men are significantly more likely to own property
than women even after controlling for a host of other
factors. This paper is an important step toward a better
understanding of gender gaps in property ownership in Africa
and outlines an agenda for future data collection and
analytic efforts. |
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