Pathways and Associations between Women’s Land Ownership and Child Food and Nutrition Security in Pakistan

Azka Rehman, Qing Ping and Amar Razzaq
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Azka Rehman: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agriculture University, No.1 Shizishan street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China
Qing Ping: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agriculture University, No.1 Shizishan street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China
Amar Razzaq: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agriculture University, No.1 Shizishan street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: Women’s land ownership plays a noteworthy role in improving various development indicators, including her own wellbeing and children’s food and nutrition security. However, the literature linking women’s access to land rights to the nutritional security of children in Pakistan is limited, even though it is a country facing enormous challenges of childhood malnutrition and gender discrimination. This paper contributes to the existing literature on the benefits of empowering women by studying the association and pathways between women’s land rights and child nutrition, using the 2012–2013 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results indicate that women’s individual land ownership and women’s autonomy in large-scale family purchases have a positive impact on children’s food and nutrition security (FNS). The results of quantile regression (QR) show that these effects are more pronounced in cases of children with severe stunted growth. In addition, a structural equation model shows that the positive relationship between women’s land ownership and child nutrition is partially mediated by women’s increased decision-making power in large-scale household purchases. Our research concludes that ensuring women’s land rights can improve women’s autonomy, which can be an effective policy tool that not only improves women’s welfare but also improves their children’s nutritional security.

Keywords: land right; women’s autonomy; child stunting; malnutrition; gender discrimination; Pakistan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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