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Abstract:
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Land and property rights have been widely recognized in development as a potential catalyst for improving livelihoods and stimulating economic growth. The potential benefits are even more noteworthy for women in traditionally patriarchal societies, because land and property ownership can provide access to capital from which they are generally excluded. However, there is far less attention given to the causal relationship between rights to land and property and increased well-being or agency for women. This paper illuminates this relationship by operationalizing Amartya Sen s concept of Agency (comprised of decision-making power, mobility and community support) and using regression-based analysis to test the influence of property ownership on Agency. Property rights are determined to have a statistically significant relationship with Agency as well as its individual constructs. When Agency is tested as the conduit by which ownership reduces incidence of domestic violence, the small number of observations limits ability to detect significance. The findings are then used to address implications of the 2005 Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, suggest reforms for the West Bengal Land Reform Act and promote creative methods of addressing social protection policies (such as property rights for women). Finally, the paper advocates three important areas for additional research: 1) exploring alternative ways to measure Agency in India and other countries; 2) testing the affect of property rights on Agency in other societies; and, 3) exploring other 'agents' of empowerment in addition to property such as increased assets, entering the workforce or receiving a leadership position in the community or government. |