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Trial Status
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in_development
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on_going
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Abstract
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Before
Customary norms and institutions hold sway in legal pluralist contexts across sub-Saharan Africa. Women in these settings tend to have weaker rights than men over the acquisition, division, and inheritance of assets that are central to productivity and welfare. This project studies the relative impact of two interventions aimed at strengthening women’s property rights in rural Côte d’Ivoire, in the context of the World Bank Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project (PAMOFOR).
The first intervention consists of leveraging upcoming land certification activities to certify one plot of each man’s land in his wife’s name, resulting in the reallocation of individual land ownership within the household. The second intervention is marriage formalization, with (customarily married) couples entering into civil marriage under a community of property regime. Couples will have the opportunity to formalize their marriage with support to reduce the administrative and transaction costs related to civil marriage that block many couples from formalizing their marriage.
The interventions, which will be executed jointly by the World Bank and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, will coincide with the adoption of a new set of legal reforms in Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen women’s rights under marriage and inheritance.
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After
Customary norms and institutions hold sway in legal pluralist contexts across sub-Saharan Africa. Women in these settings tend to have weaker rights than men over the acquisition, division, and inheritance of assets that are central to productivity and welfare. This project studies the relative impact of two interventions aimed at strengthening women’s property rights in rural Côte d’Ivoire, in the context of the World Bank Land Policy Improvement and Implementation Project (PAMOFOR).
One way to strengthen women’s property rights is through the statutory declaration of those rights. Civil marriage registration offers a way to bring women under the protection of formal institutions, strengthen their property rights, and potentially enhance efficiency and welfare. Yet we know little about whether the formalization of customary marriage contracts effectively empowers women and if so, under what conditions. Moreover, we know little about how it compares to other strategies to strengthen women's property rights, such as formally registering a portion of household land in women's names. The relative impact of an immediate but one-off strategy (such as an asset redistribution within the household) versus a change in marital property regime (through a civil marriage) with effects that may take months or years to realize remains unclear.
The interventions, which will be executed jointly by the World Bank and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, will coincide with the adoption of a new set of legal reforms in Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen women’s rights under marriage and inheritance.
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Last Published
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August 28, 2020 12:23 PM
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After
May 17, 2024 05:41 PM
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Intervention Start Date
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September 02, 2020
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After
October 26, 2020
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Additional Keyword(s)
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Before
Land, Property Rights
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After
Land, Property Rights, Family
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Keyword(s)
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Gender
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After
Agriculture, Gender, Labor
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Building on Existing Work
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After
No
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