State Reach and Gender Norms: Examining the Uptake of Equitable Land Rights
Lauren Honig, Adam S. Harris, Ellen Lust
The state’s reach has been shown to impact civil conflict, democracy, and the power of local authorities. In this paper, we reveal that it also affects the social institutions that govern gender and property rights. Governments in many developing countries have implemented laws that promise equal land rights to men and women, thus attempting to change social institutions governing land management. However, success varies. We draw on an original household-level survey in Malawi to show that state reach is associated with variations in gendered property rights at the community and household level, even when considering land values, migration, market access, ethnic heterogeneity, education, wealth, and lineage systems. Evidence from 32 focus groups highlights the impact of state information dissemination combined with access to state forums. This has implications for the study of the state and social institutions, as well as for property rights and gender equality policies in Africa.
Event: World Bank Land Conference 2024 - Washington
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