Women’s right to property and the child quantity-quality trade-off: evidence from India

Vaidehi Tandel (), Arnab Dutta (), Sahil Gandhi () and Ashwini Narayanan ()
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Vaidehi Tandel: University of Manchester
Arnab Dutta: University of Southern California
Sahil Gandhi: University of Manchester
Ashwini Narayanan: Dartmouth College

Journal of Population Economics, 2023, vol. 36, issue 4, No 28, 2967-3003

Abstract: Abstract We study the effects of a series of state and federal reforms that granted Indian women equal inheritance rights on the quantity and quality of children. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that women who were affected by the state reforms had 0.4 more children. State reforms did not have any effect on children’s heights. To assess the impact of the federal reform, we use panel data on women and a novel treatment based on the timing of their fathers’ deaths. We find that women affected by the reform had on average 0.22 fewer children and had taller children on average. While the federal reform had no effect on the number of daughters born to this group, the number of sons born declined. Thus, we see evidence that granting property rights to women could potentially impact fertility decisions, children’s health outcomes, and gender imbalance.

Keywords: Inheritance rights; Fertility; Gender; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 J13 J16 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-023-00970-0

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