Resource information
Using a newly compiled database of
women's property rights and legal capacity covering 100
countries over 50 years, this paper analyzes the triggers
and barriers to reform. The database documents gender gaps
in the ability to access and own assets, to sign legal
documents in one's own name, and to have equality or
non-discrimination as a guiding principle of the
country's constitution. Progress in reducing these
constraints has been dramatic -- half of the constraints
documented in the 1960s had been removed by 2010. However,
some sticky areas persist where laws have not changed or
have even regressed. The paper analyzes potential drivers of
reforms. A significant finding is that the relationship with
a country's level of development and the extent of its
reforms is not straightforward. For the first half of the
sample, there was no systematic connection; only in the last
25 years have increases in income been associated with
higher probabilities for reform, but only in lower-income
countries. With the remaining constraints as prevalent in
middle- as low-income countries, increased growth is not
necessarily going to spark additional reforms. Clearer
patterns emerge from the momentum created by international
conventions, such as the Committee to Eliminate All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), women's political
representation at the national level, mobilization of
women's networks, and increasing labor force
participation in sectors that provide a voice for women,
which are positive forces for change. Conversely, conflict
and weak rule of law can entrench a discriminatory status
quo. And much is at stake; strengthening women's legal
rights is associated with important development outcomes
that can benefit society as a whole.
