Innovations in Methodologies for Analyzing the

Gender Asset Gaps in Agriculture

Cheryl Doss, Yale University

ICAE 2012, Foz do Igazu, Brazil

Gender Asset Gaps

• Claims are frequently made that women have less access to and ownership of resources for agriculture.

• These include statements that women own 1-2% of the world’s land.

• Less data on gender gaps in other productive assets.

• Need good measures of the gaps – and why they exist – to create policies to reduce them.

Physical and Financial Assets

• Are a means of production • May generate rent, interest, and profit• Have current use value or provide services • Serve as collateral for loans• Act as a buffer during emergencies• Are a store of wealth

• Can be passed on to future generations• Can generate status and social advantage

Individual vs. Household Ownership

• Most asset ownership and wealth data collected at household level.

• But many reasons to consider individual level ownership:• Assets are owned by individuals• Individuals vulnerable to hh dissolution• Men and women may acquire, use, and dispose of assets differently

• Assets may provide bargaining power within hhs and communities

The Gender Asset Gap Project

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore University of Ghana Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO)

– Ecuador, Center for Latin American Studies, Univ. of Florida American University Yale University

Initially supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the MDG3 Fund for gender equality. And an Anonymous Donor.  

Related work through USAID AMA CRSP in Uganda

Quantitative Survey• Followed extensive qualitative work.

• Representative at the State level for • Karnataka, India (4800 hhs)

And at the national level for Ghana (2170 hhs) and • Ecuador (2978 hhs)

• All three country surveys are stratified by rural and urban regions.

• Interviewed two adults, usually principal male and female, in each household

• Questions on all physical & financial assets, including multiple means of valuation

• Household inventory: • Asked detailed questions about all forms of

physical/financial assets, including identification of owners

Individual questionnaire: Asked about individual ownership and rights

Unique structure of survey

Measuring the Gender Asset Gap

There are different ways to present the gender asset gap

• One approach is the distribution by form of property ownership

• This uses the asset as the unit of observation and asks how each asset is owned

Distribution by form of Property Ownership, Agricultural Parcels

Distribution by form of Property Ownership, Large Livestock

Distribution by form of Property Ownership, Small Livestock

Distribution by form of Property Ownership, Poultry

Measuring the Gender Asset Gap• A second approach is the proportion of the population of adult women, or men, who own the particular asset (irrespective of form of ownership.)

• We refer to this as the Gender Asset Gap or the incidence gap.

Incidence of Ownership of Non- Agricultural Real Estate, by sex

Incidence of Ownership ofAgricultural Land, by sex

Incidence of Ownership ofAgricultural Equipment, by sex

Gender Wealth Gaps• Include value of assets• Allows for comparisons across assets.

Which approach?

• The distribution of assets by form of ownership indicates the proportion of assets that are owned individually by men or women or owned jointly.• It does not tell us how many different men and women

own these assets. It could be that many of the assets are owned by a few individuals or that they are widely distributed.

• The incidence gaps indicate the proportion of men and women who are owners of a particular type of asset, but do not tell us anything about whether the quality and quantity owned varies among owners.

Data Needs: Minimum Questions

For Gender Asset Gap, only two questions required beyond the normal household assets inventory:

• Who are the owners of the asset, with space for multiple owners to capture joint owners

• If there is an ownership document, whose names are on it?

• For Gender Wealth Gap, besides above, need at least one measure of valuation for each asset

How Many Assets?

Country % Four Major Assets

Ecuador 89.9

Ghana 81.6

India 92.5

Share of Gross Physical Household Wealth represented by the four major assets: Principal residence, agricultural land, other real estate and non-farm businesses

Benefit of Interviewing 2 people separately: More assets?

Asset Ecuador Ghana India 

Principal dwelling

0.40 na na

Agricultural parcels

1.36 0.35 0.15

Other real estate

3.91 0.41 0.35

Non-farm businesses

0.52 1.04 0.12

Major Assets added by interviewing a second respondent (% added to Inventory)

Benefit of interviewing 2 people/the couple separately: Allows gender analysis• Men and women may have different perceptions of ownership related to:• Differences in legal knowledge• Different understandings of the bundle of property rights• Gender socialization

• Men and women may have different perceptions of the value of their assets related to:• Whether markets exist and degree of integration to

markets• Gender differences in mobility and social networks

Asset Country N (assets) % who disagree

Dwelling      

  Ecuador 450 35.1

  Ghana 510 7.7

Agricultural land      

  Ecuador 94 30.9

  Ghana 873 3.3

Other real estate      

  Ecuador 164 20.1

  Ghana 413 7.8

Non-farm businesses

     

  Ecuador 534 22.3

  Ghana 641 1.6

Disagreements among Couples over who owns the asset

  INDIA(in INR)

  ECUADOR(in US$)

 

  Husbands Wives Husbands Wives

N 1667 1667 272 272

Mean 263,621 204,289***

30,771 28,964

(s.d.) (480032) (459869) (31854) (28695)

Median

100,000 100,000 20,000 20,000

Table 7a: Estimates of market value of principal residence by husbands and wives

  INDIA(in INR)

  ECUADOR(in US$)

 

  Husbands Wives Husbands Wives

N 1516 1516 56 56

Mean 386,577 299,950***

14,575 10,793**

(s.d.) (800700) (581056) (18386) (12979)

Median 170,000 120,000 6,500 5,000

Table 7b: Estimates of market value of agricultural parcels by husbands and wives

  INDIA(in INR)

  ECUADOR(in US$)

 

  Husbands Wives Husbands Wives

N 494 494 63 63

Mean 173,784 176,855 25,244 25,014

(s.d.) (556717) (512959)

(33367) (33995)

Median

50,000 50,000 10,000 10,000

Table 7c: Estimates of market value of other real estate by husbands and wives

  INDIA(in INR)

  ECUADOR(in US$)

 

  Husbands Wives Husbands Wives

N 457 457 136 136

Mean 136,927 55,169* 9,459 9,737

(s.d.) (1166042) (325317) (22743) (22982)

Median

8,000 5,000 1,000 1,075

Table 7d: Estimates of market value of non-farm businesses by husbands and wives

Conclusions and Implications• Large differences across countries:

• Based in part on marital regimes and ownership within marriage

• Ecuador has partial community property• Separation of property regime in India, Ghana, and

Uganda• Different patterns of inheritance • Patterns follow those from Western Europe and US, as land

becomes less dominant in overall asset portfolio, women gain access to assets

Conclusions and Implications (2)

Large differences across assets:• Can’t assume that all assets share similar ownership

patterns• E.g. India: men predominate in ownership of house and

land, but “all household members” own livestock

• Assets with more formal type of ownership, such as documented or deeded land, is less likely to be owned by women.

• Savings patterns are similar: women have more access to informal savings than formal savings. Savings are typically owned individually.