Suicide and property rights in India

Siwan Anderson and Garance Genicot

Journal of Development Economics, 2015, vol. 114, issue C, 64-78

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of female property rights on male and female suicide rates in India. Using state level variation in legal changes to women's property rights, we show that better property rights for women are associated with a decrease in the difference between female and male suicide rates, but an increase in both male and female suicides. We conjecture that increasing female property rights increased conflict within household and this increased conflict resulted in more suicides among both men and women in India. Using individual level data on domestic violence we find evidence that increased property rights for women did increase the incidence of wife beating in India. A model of intra-household bargaining with asymmetric information and costly conflict is consistent with these findings.

Keywords: Suicide; Inheritance; Property rights; Conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (59)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Suicide and Property Rights in India (2014)
Working Paper: Suicide and Property Rights in India (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:114:y:2015:i:c:p:64-78

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.11.004

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