Joint Titling in Rural Peru: Impact on Women’s Participation in Household Decision Making
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Study Information
This section discusses Henrik Wiig’s 2013 article “Joint Titling in Rural Peru: Impact on Women’s Participation in Household Decision Making”.1
This is a cross-section data analysis of similar communities with and without titled plots that exist side by side within the same district. The cross-section comparison between households in titled communities vs. untitled communities is not distorted by simultaneity bias due to an exogenous election process arising from the land reform of the 1960-70s. This research measures influence on decision-making in 1,280 rural households, interviewing men and women both together and separately. Research was conducted in 2010.
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Questions posed
- Does joint titling of land empower women within the household (i.e. the degree to which women participate in household decision-making)?
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Description of intervention
The intervention was called the Special Land Titling and Cadaster Project (PETT), a rural land titling effort funded by The Inter-American Development Bank in 1996.
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Context of findings
Peru has implemented joint property rights between spouses and cohabitants on 57% of 1.5 million formalized agricultural plots.
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Key findings
Women in households with plots titled jointly under the names of the husband and the wife participated in more household decisions. The effect is strongest for agricultural decision-making and land related investment decisions.
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Unanswered questions
- What steps were taken to ensure women who did receive a joint title knew their rights?
Wiig, H. (2013). Joint Titling in Rural Peru: Impact on Women’s Participation in Household Decision Making. World Development, 52, 104-119.