AUGUST 2021 Measuring Women’s Control Measures for Advancing Gender Equality (MAGNET) Over Assets The Measures for Advancing Gender Equality (MAGNET) initiative aims to broaden and deepen the measurement of women’s agency, MOTIVATION AND POLICY RELEVANCE based on the development of new tools and Gender inequalities in the ownership, control, and use of assets are a rigorous testing and comparison of both new widespread and pervasive development challenge. Persistent gender gaps and existing methods for measuring agency, and promoting the adoption of these measures remain in women’s access to land, housing, and financial assets (Doss at scale. By increasing the availability of et al. 2015; Kieran et al. 2017; Gaddis, Lahoti, and Li 2018). In many innovative meaningful measures of agency contexts, women are also less tenure secure, and often have less influence for a broad range of contexts, we hope our on decisions such as the sale or the economic use of the assets they own work will lead to an improved understanding than men (Doss and Meinzen-Dick 2020; Kang, Schwab, and Yu 2020). of what women’s agency is, how it manifests and how it can best be measured across Expanding women’s control over assets is key not only for improving contexts given the research question at hand. gender equality, but also for promoting economic development and well- MAGNET is a collaboration between the being (O’Sullivan 2017; Doss, Kieran, and Kilic 2019). There is strong and World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab rising evidence showing that strengthening women’s property rights can and Living Standards Measurement Study have positive impacts including greater female bargaining and decision- (LSMS) teams, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International making power (Fafchamps and Quisumbing 2002; Melesse, Dabissa, and Rescue Committee (IRC), and researchers Bulte 2018; Meinzen-Dick et al. 2019; Mookerjee 2019), reducing domestic at Oxford University. We plan to develop violence (Amaral 2017; Peterman et al. 2017), increasing consumption and a range of new survey tools, each tested human capital investments (Muchomba 2017; Harari 2019; Calvi 2020; across multiple contexts. MAGNET focuses on three dimensions of women’s agency that Milazzo and Van de Walle 2021), improving children’s nutrition and human have high potential for catalyzing progress capital (Allendorf 2007; van der Meulen Rodgers and Kassens 2018; on women’s economic empowerment, but Deininger et al. 2019), and reducing child marriage (Muchomba 2021). for which the body of existing measurement Improvements in women’s tenure security are also associated with more methods is weak or under-tested: (i) land investment and reduced inefficiencies (Ali, Deininger, and Goldstein ownership and control of assets, (ii) goal- setting and decision-making, and (iii) sense 2014; Dillon and Voena 2018; Goldstein et al. 2018). of control and efficacy. http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/africa-gender-innovation-lab The design of effective policies to expand and strengthen from African countries find that land ownership, rights women’s property rights requires using the right set of to transfer, management, and control over agricultural measurement tools that can accurately account for the output do not always overlap (Slavchevska et al. multiple types of ownership, control, and use rights over 2020; Kilic, Moylan, and Koolwal 2021; Genicot and land and other assets. Researchers and policymakers Hernandez-de-Benito 2021). have made important progress addressing many of the Yet, more systematic studies are needed to analyze challenges posed by the heterogenous conceptualization the correlations across different types of property rights of asset ownership across contexts. But knowledge and contexts, and how these rights differentially affect gaps persist regarding the extent of women’s ownership household outcomes. For instance, it is important to and rights over assets, the nature and implications of understand the degree to which multiple rights are typically gender differences in reporting data on property rights, held by the same person and how the patterns of rights and the best practices for questionnaire design and holding are affected by socioeconomic and demographic data collection protocols. This brief summarizes existing characteristics, particularly how they differ by gender. The knowledge gaps in these three key measurement areas focus on understanding the type and extent of women’s and lays out how the Measures for Advancing Gender rights relies on the assumption that they are positively Equality (MAGNET) initiative plans to tackle them. The correlated with multiple beneficial outcomes. Important ultimate goal is to generate rigorous empirical evidence knowledge gaps remain, however, on understanding to advise on the best tools to measure and analyze how the different kinds of control and usage rights affect women’s control over assets. welfare outcomes and agricultural productivity across different settings, and what the complementarities are EXISTING KNOWLEDGE GAPS    among them. Understanding women’s ownership Finally, the literature has focused on understanding the and rights over assets   patterns of women’s land ownership since it is usually the most valuable asset in agricultural societies. However, in Ownership is a multidimensional concept that includes some areas, livestock may be the most important asset. a varying bundle of rights such as the right to transfer The relative importance of different assets varies by (through sales or bequests), the right to access and context - for instance, financial assets may play a bigger use, the right to manage, the right to exclude or control role in urban settings. Increasingly, the control over the access of others, the right to modify or invest in financial assets has significant implications for women’s the asset, or the right to obtain economic benefits from empowerment (Demirguc-Kunt et al. 2018; Galiè et al. the asset (Doss, Kieran, and Kilic 2019). A widespread 2019). Rights to water may or may not be associated challenge in data collection is that ownership can mean with rights to land and may be embedded not only in a full range of rights in one context but a smaller range the household, but also in the community. In summary, of rights in another context. Moreover, when surveys ask further analysis is needed in understanding patterns of about asset ownership, often the assumption is that the rights within the household across different assets, and different rights are held by the same person. In some how these different assets affect women’s well-being. contexts, this may be a fair assumption. In many Latin American countries, property ownership rights typically include the right to sell, bequeath, and transfer. While Understanding joint ownership: gender there is variation, reported owners often can provide differences in reporting and interpretation legal ownership documents or may have legal claim Survey respondents often report owning assets jointly to the land through marriage (Deere et al. 2013; Doss with others, including their spouses, children, and et al. 2015). In contrast, land holders in many African extended family. Therefore, measuring the extent of countries are less likely to hold documents confirming women’s property rights also requires understanding their ownership of the land, and the set of rights that are the role played by joint ownership. Recent empirical claimed through customary norms give owners claim to evidence from the Gender Asset Gap Project suggests a different set of rights. Recent studies analyzing data that the patterns of individual and joint ownership vary widely across countries and assets. However, much For instance, women may prefer holding assets for which of the literature linking asset ownership and women’s usage and management is more compatible with the rest empowerment has not paid enough attention to the of their daily activities such as childcare. Discriminatory type of ownership held. For instance, little is known on customary laws, as well as gendered limitations in whether holding sole property rights is actually better for access to credit and labor markets, may also lead men women’s bargaining power and well-being (Doss et al. and women to invest in different types of assets. It is 2014; Doss and Quisumbing 2020). important to advance on the understanding of whether and why men and women may report and value certain Evidence also suggests that men and women have assets differently. Otherwise, we risk estimating biased different understandings of what it means to be an gender wealth gaps depending on who responds to individual or joint owner. At least in some parts of Sub- survey questions. Saharan Africa, women are more likely to report that they are joint owners, while men report owning the same asset individually (Jacobs and Kes 2015; Kilic and Moylan 2016). Understanding the impact of interview But reporting “joint ownership” does not necessarily methodology and context mean that all owners have equal rights or control over Evidence also suggests that questionnaire design the asset (Doss, Meinzen-Dick, and Bomuhangi 2014; and choice of respondent are nontrivial issues when Gaddis, Lahoti, and Li 2018). Several questions remain: collecting data on asset ownership. Interviewing the When does joint ownership imply equal rights to transfer most knowledgeable household member may increase or use the asset? How does joint ownership affect the the probability of collecting accurate and complete use of the asset by the different owners? How does joint information, while it may introduce other kinds of biases. ownership affect the security of tenure? In addition, little is For example, Kilic, Moylan, and Koolwal 2021 find known about what individuals actually prefer. Do women that interviewing the most knowledgeable household prefer owning assets individually or jointly? Under which member—instead of privately interviewing adults about contexts would they prefer one over the other? their personal asset ownership and rights—leads to lower reporting of jointly owned land and economic ownership among women. The complexities and trade-offs implied Understanding gendered differences by the different data collection methodologies suggest in asset valuation there may not be a one-fits-all solution. But there is still Documenting the patterns of gender inequalities in asset room for deepening our understanding of the implications ownership also requires an accurate measurement of the of intra-household disagreements on reported ownership. quantity and the monetary value of the assets individuals For instance, when does spousal disagreement over own. Most household surveys collect this information joint ownership entail implications for women’s well- at the household level, rather than the individual level. being? When do individuals’ perceptions about their own However, men and women may report different quantities ownership provide the best information to understand and monetary values for the same assets due to bargaining power? Or, when should we accept each differences in preferences, social-desirability and other person’s responses instead of reconciling them with the types of response bias, or information about market answers of other household members? prices. For example, Doss et al. (2018) find that women and men provide different responses to questions about Finally, men’s and women’s responses to asset ownership the monetary value of their homes. These findings suggest questions may be affected by the interview context that similar patterns may emerge in other types of assets (Diop and Traugott 2015; Himelein 2016; De Weerdt, and wealth data. Silverio-Murillo (2018) documents Gibson and Beegle 2020; Di Maio and Fiala 2020). Do gender differences in the number of assets reported at enumerator characteristics influence the reporting of the household level in Mexico. Ambler et al. 2021 suggest ownership, control, and use of assets? Which enumerator that asymmetric information within the household may characteristics matter the most? Could these enumerator explain some of these differences. Women and men may effects be partially mitigated during training if they are also value assets differently for non-monetary reasons. identified before data collection? MAGNET WORKPLAN respondent. Then, we will also explore differences between husbands and wives within the same Where do we go from here? The MAGNET initiative aims household in responses regarding asset values. to generate and test new survey questions and protocols to better capture the extent of women’s control over assets, gendered differences in reported joint ownership Vignettes: and asset valuation, and the importance of the interview MAGNET will design and test different vignettes—short methodology and context. descriptions of hypothetical individuals or situations meant to convey complicated concepts and ensure that different respondents understand questions similarly across cultures Protocols and research output based and contexts—in order to deepen our understanding of on analyzing existing data: what joint ownership of assets entails (e.g., legal rights, use • MAGNET will analyze existing household survey rights, tenure security, preferences over type of ownership) data to explore the extent to which the different rights over assets are correlated with each other and of women’s control over water resources. and with favorable outcomes. We often think about a set of property rights that include the right Enumerator background questionnaire: to transfer the property, the right to manage the MAGNET will identify which enumerators’ characteristics property, and the right to obtain economic benefits from the property. To what extent are these rights (e.g., gender, age, beliefs on women’s asset rights) affect the held by the same person? Which of the rights are reporting on ownership and control over assets, and whether correlated with positive outcomes, including welfare there are heterogeneities across genders and contexts. outcomes and agricultural productivity? What are the patterns of rights within the household across different assets? For women’s well-being, does it Field-experiments: matter which assets they own? MAGNET will test a set of tools to measure household decision-making around water, considering the various • MAGNET will also analyze existing data to understand gender differences in assigning value levels of decisions involved, the extent to which the to assets. First, we will use data from all the generates income and who controls it, and the extent to respondents who provide a value for the assets that which asset ownership influences this decision-making. they own and then use a decomposition to identify the extent to which the differences in reported values Once the enumerator background questionnaire is validated, are explained by the characteristics of the assets, MAGNET will design tailored interventions aiming to reduce and how much of it depends on the gender of the enumerator effects before data collection takes place. Photo Credit: Tintseh, World Bank This work has been funded in part by the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), which is a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through experimentation and knowledge creation to help governments and the private sector focus policy and programs on scalable solutions with sustainable outcomes. The UFGE is supported with generous contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. To learn more about our partners, please visit Or contact World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab International Food Policy Research Institute Aletheia Donald (AFRGIL) (IFPRI) adonald@worldbank.org https://www.worldbank.org/en/ https://www.ifpri.org/ programs/africa-gender-innovation-lab Maria Hernandez-De-Benito International Rescue Committee (IRC) mhernandezdebeni@worldbank.org World Bank Living Standards Measurement https://www.rescue.org/ Study (LSMS) https://www.worldbank.org/ Oxford University en/programs/lsms https://www.ox.ac.uk/