Gender and Property Formalization: Conventional and Alternative Approaches

Securing property rights in both rural landholdings and urban housing is a much-debated feature of current development policy. Providing title for the household does not guarantee security for women, and legal equality may fail to prevent gender differences in property ownership. A pro-active approa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:World development 2007-10, Vol.35 (10), p.1739-1753
Main Author: Varley, Ann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affirmative Action
Alternative Approaches
Development Policy
Economic sociology
Females
Formalization
Gender
Gender differences
Housing
Institutions
Latin America
Mexico
Ownership
Political sociology
Property
Property Rights
Rural sociology
Sex Differences
Sexual Inequality
Social equality
Social norms
Studies
urban property
Urban sociology
Women
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Securing property rights in both rural landholdings and urban housing is a much-debated feature of current development policy. Providing title for the household does not guarantee security for women, and legal equality may fail to prevent gender differences in property ownership. A pro-active approach to women’s property rights is needed. Disenchantment with state programs delivering individual titles has led to calls for alternative strategies emphasizing local or customary authorities and procedures. This paper questions the ability of either approach to address gender inequalities effectively without affirmative action but suggests that informal responses within state institutions can help.
ISSN:0305-750X
1873-5991
DOI:10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.06.005