Inheritance Law Reform,Empowerment, and Human Capital Accumulation: Second-Generation Effects from India |
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| Authors: | Klaus Deininger Songqing Jin Hari K Nagarajan |
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| Institution: | 1. Development Research Group, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA;2. China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;3. Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA;4. Centre for Management in Agriculture, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India;5. Centre for Public Policy and Governance, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat, India |
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| Abstract: | Although many studies point towards significant positive impacts of Hindu Succession Act (HSA) reforms on females’ empowerment and access to human and physical capital, the fact that this reform also led to increased female mortality raises questions about long-term sustainability of reform effects. We use evidence from three states, one of which amended the HSA in 1994, to assess first- and second-generation effects of this reform using a triple-difference strategy. First-generation effects include greater likelihood of completing primary education, more assets brought into marriage, improved access to bank accounts, a lower share of female births, and higher female survival rates. Second-generation effects on education, time use, and health are robust and point estimates of education are larger than first-generation ones even after mothers’ endowments are controlled for, pointing to a sizeable and sustained empowerment effect. |
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