210
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
ARTICLES

Gender and Generation: Landownership and Older Indians’ Autonomy

ORCID Icon, &
Pages 172-210 | Published online: 17 Oct 2023
 

Abstract

While increased access to household assets has been shown to improve older individuals’ autonomy and bargaining power at home, the role of gender hierarchy in shaping differential impacts of household assets has received far less attention. This article explores the gender asymmetry in the association of older people’s (age 60 years or more) decision-making power at home and survival probability with their ownership of and managerial control over agricultural land in rural India. Using data from the India Human Development Survey, results find that in multi-generational households, landownership at the household level is associated with higher decision-making power and survival probability for older men but not for older women. Among older women, the relationship between household landownership and decision-making power is positive when they have clearly established titles to the land or managerial control but negative when their names are not on the land title.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Landownership is an important source of old age security in India.

  • Agricultural land in India is typically controlled by the patriarch; women rarely own or control household land.

  • The generational power conferred on older men with landownership does not apply to older women to the same degree.

  • It is crucial to register household land under women’s names and recognize women as actual landowners.

JEL Codes:

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation [grant number INV-003352]; Foundation for the National Institutes of Health [grant number R01HD041455]; William and Flora Hewlett Foundation [grant number 2018–7924].

Notes on contributors

Hope Xu Yan

Hope Xu Yan is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park and Graduate Research Assistant of the India Human Development Survey. Yan holds a MSc in Gender and a MA in Sociology.

Sonalde Desai

Sonalde Desai is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park with a joint appointment as Professor and Centre Director, NCAER National Data Innovation Centre, New Delhi. Desai holds a PhD in Sociology and is a social demographer by training.

Debasis Barik

Debasis Barik is Fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. Barik holds a PhD in Population Studies and is a demographer by training. His research focuses around the issues of gender, health inequality, and social demography.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 285.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.