Intergenerational effects of improving women's property rights: evidence from India. (3rd July 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bose, Nayana; Das, Shreyasee
• Is Part Of: Oxford development studies. Volume 49:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 277
• Page End: 290
• Publication Date: 2021-07-03
• Subjects: Property Rights -- Hindu Inheritance Law -- education -- intergenerational transfers -- India; Economic development -- Periodicals; Economic policy -- Periodicals; Economic history -- Periodicals; 338.9
• DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2021.1899154
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1360-0818

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes the intergenerational effects following the positive changes in women's inheritance rights in India. Using the Indian Human Development Survey data for rural India and a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that the property rights reform significantly empowered women through increased education. However, we find no intergenerational effect of the reform on children's education. We explore two potential mechanisms to explain these results: the role of status conflict among spouses and that of a child's birth-order and gender. Given that a woman's bargaining power may depend on her relative position to that of her husband, we investigate this channel and find a significant decrease in children's education in households where fathers are less educated than mothers. Accounting for a child's birth-order and gender, we find no evidence of son-preference through the education channel.