1. Carmen Diana Deere and Jennifer Twyman Center for Latin American Studies and Food & Resource Economics University of Florida

2. Motivation: Understanding Women’s Empowerment What is it? Process of acquiring the ability to make choices Includes: Resources, agency, and achievements Agency: “The ability to define one’s goals and act upon them” (Kabeer 1999: 438) How is it measured? Women’s participation in household decision-making Usually autonomous decision-making or having the final say in decisions

3. Central Questions: Are women empowered only when they are making most household decisions autonomously? An alternative vision of empowerment: when women are able to negotiate as equals with their husbands to reach joint decisions. What factors promote egalitarian decision-making? Feminist theory: Factors that increase their bargaining power within the household

4. Main Proposition: Women’s bargaining position within marriage partly depends on their fall-back position How well off they would be in case of household dissolution (separation, divorce, widowhood) Asset ownership by women an important component The problem: Until recently few household surveys collected individual-level information on assets

5. 2. Methods and Data Part of 3-country study (Ecuador, Ghana, India) financed by MDG3 Fund of Dutch Foreign Ministry Ecuador study based at FLACSO, Quito 6 months of qualitative field work in 3 provinces (focus groups, key informant interviews, asset market study) Nationally representative survey of 2,892 households (EAFF 2010) Truncated: doesn’t include the wealthiest Employed both household and individual-level questionnaires

6. The respondents Adult couple in dual- headed households (68.5%) When feasible, answered HH questionnaire together; Individual questionnaire separately Adult male (6.7%) or female (24.8%) in single-headed households

7. How men and women report making their own decisions How decision is madeMenWomen Alone52%32% Joint47%63% Asks permission1%3% Someone else0%1% Not applicable0%1% Total100% Decision to work Decision to spend one’s own money How decision is madeMenWomen Alone18%29% Part joint15%10% All joint65%53% Someone else1% Not applicable1%7% Total100% n = 1,776

8. Symmetry in decision-making: Whether both spouses make the decision regarding themselves in a similar fashion (paired) a) Whether or not to work b) If earn or receive income, how to spend Each alone38621.71599.0 Each partly alone & partly jointly --965.4 Each makes jointly 62735.373641.4 Each asks permission or someone else 10.140.2 Differ76242.978144.0 Total17761001776100

9. The dependent variable Decision Each partner says joint* (symmetr y) % Partners agree that the other makes decision jointly (agreement) % Partners disagree that the other makes decision jointly % To work62510048877.913821.9 To spend73310030942.242457.8 Symmetry and agreement: Egalitarian decision-making

10. 3. Models Focus on 2 decisions Decision to work Decision on spending one’s own money Binary dependent variable logistic regression models If egalitarian = 1 Otherwise = 0 3 Models for each decision Baseline Asset ownership Wife’s share of couple’s wealth

11. Explanatory Variables Asset ownership Wife’s share of couple’s wealth Who is employed? Who earns the most? Wife’s age, Age Difference Wife’s Education, Education Difference Locale: Rural/Urban, Coast/Sierra Consensual Union/Marriage Ethnicity Previous Relationships Socioeconomic status: Transfer Payment (“bono”)

12. Explanatory Variables Who earns the most? Wife 7% Husband 74% Earn same 10% Disagree 10% Asset ownership (housing, land, other real estate) Wife only 8% Husband only 12% Both 45% Neither 34%

13. Continuous Variables VariableMeanStd. Dev. MedianMin.Max. Wife’s age 41.314.2391890 Husband’s age 45.315.3431893 Age Difference 4.16.33-2342 Wife’s years of schooling 8.14.67020 Husband’s schooling 8.44.57020 Schooling Difference 0.43.50-1114 Wife’s share of couple’s wealth 0.460.250.501

14. Results—Asset Ownership Decision to workDecision to spend Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Wife only owns asset(s) -0.467* (0.244) - -0.637* (0.335) - Husband only owns asset(s) -0.023 (0.190) - -0.114 (0.261 - Both own asset(s) 0.186 (0.138) - 0.351** (0.177) - (Neither own assets)

15. Results—Wife’s share of wealth Decision to workDecision to spend Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Woman's share of wealth - 2.294*** (0.678) - 2.270** (0.921) Woman's share of wealth squared - -2.683*** (0.700) - -2.574*** (0.928) Maximum:0.43 0.44

16. How wife’s share of wealth impacts the odds of egalitarian work decisions

17. Results—Employment Decision to workDecision to spend Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Wife only - - 0.967** (0.458) 0.990** (0.459) Both - - 1.893*** (0.190) 1.900*** (0.190) Neither - - 0.656 (0.469) 0.595 (0.471) (Husband only) - -

18. Results—Who earns the most? Decision to workDecision to spend Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Model II— Asset Ownership Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient--β (Std. Error) Wife earns the most 0.123 (0.476) 0.100 (0.224) 0.153 (0.299) 0.115 (0.299) Earn the same 0.476*** (0.177) 0.474*** (0.177) 0.853*** (0.207) 0.876*** (0.206) Disagree about earnings -0.132 (0.191) -0.127 (0.191) 0.216 (0.207) 0.233 (0.207) (Husband earns the most)

19. Results—Regions Decision to workDecision to spend Model II—Asset Ownershi p Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Model II—Asset Ownershi p Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Coefficient --β (Std. Error) Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Coefficient --β (Std. Error) Coefficient-- β (Std. Error) Rural (Urban) 0.290** (0.130) 0.308** (0.128) 0.459*** (0.164) 0.516*** (0.161) Coast (Highlands) 0.203 (0.126) 0.215* (0.126) -0.418*** (0.158) -0.410*** (0.157)

20. Results—Model Statistics Decision to workDecision to spend Model II—Asset Ownershi p Model III— Wife’s share of wealth Model II—Asset Ownershi p Model III—Wife’s share of wealth Number of cases (N) 1776 177517761775 Likelihood ratio chi- square (df) 46.87 (20)*** 54.79 (19)*** 290 (23)*** 286 (22)*** Pseudo R 2 0.0224 0.02630.17670.1744

21. Models in appendix (for comparative analysis with Ghana and India) Different sub-samples Decision to work: couples who both work (n= 827) Decision on spending: dropped those who reported “not applicable” (n= 1635) Socio-economic status different Previously, used the Bono (CCT) Now, Gross Household Wealth Reconciliated, based on both spouses responses Imputed missing values

22. Main changes with new sub- samples: For both decision to work and spending decision: Coefficient of both own assets now positive and significant*** Coefficient of wife only owns assets still negative but not significant Coefficient of woman’s share of wealth still positive and significant and non-linear Coefficient of couple’s absolute wealth not significant

23. Tentative Conclusions Women’s ownership of assets in dual-headed households is associated with egalitarian decision- making When both husband and wife own assets, they are more likely to make egalitarian decisions Wife’s share of couple’s wealth is associated with egalitarian decision-making Maximum likelihood of egalitarian decisions when women own about 44% of couple’s wealth Couples are also more likely to engage in egalitarian decision-making when both employed, and when husband and wife earn about the same

24. Future (on-going) work Autonomous decision-making Multinomial dependent variable Index of decision-making (including decisions over health care, birth control), but can’t do agreement (only symmetry) Other outcomes: Agricultural decision-making Domestic violence Poverty status

25. Thank you! For the country studies & comparative report see: http://genderassetgap.iimb.ernet.in

26. Table A1. Logistic regression results for models of egalitarian decision making for the decision to work; Ecuador, 2010 Baseline ModelModel IModel II Coeff. (β) Std. Err. of β Coeff. (β)Std. Err. of β Coeff. (β) Std. Err. of β Intercept-1.455***0.466-1.433***0.473-1.827***0.526 Woman's age0.0060.008-0.0110.008-0.0080.008 Age difference (man's age - woman's age)0.0060.0150.0040.0150.0070.015 Woman's years of schooling0.0330.0230.0360.0230.0310.023 Schooling difference (man - woman)0.0330.0270.0360.0270.0330.026 Rural (Urban)0.489***0.1840.370**0.1880.448**0.185 Coast (Highlands)0.2160.1810.2080.1840.2230.182 Consensual Union (Married)0.0130.2090.0980.2130.0580.212 Couple's wealth (in thousands of USD)-0.00030.006-0.0010.002-0.00030.002 Previous Relationships (Neither in a previous relationship) Woman only has been in a previous relationship-0.0660.315-0.0360.320-0.0340.320 Man only has been in a previous relationship-0.4740.329-0.5050.328-0.5080.329 Both have been in a previous relationship-0.920**0.438-0.7440.454-0.799*0.450 Who earns more (Man earns the most) Woman earns the most0.3540.3270.3090.3330.2980.327 Earn the same0.751***0.2220.706***0.2250.716***0.225 Disagree about earnings-0.0440.229-0.1060.233-0.0690.230 Assets & Wealth (Neither own real estate) Wife only owns asset(s)-0.5320.405 Husband only owns asset(s)-0.0300.307 Both own asset(s)0.466**0.213 Woman's share of wealth2.426**1.140 Woman's share of wealth squared-2.508**1.128 Number of cases (N)827 Likelihood ratio chi-square (df)26.96 (14)**38.33 (17)***32.73 (16)*** Pseudo R 2 0.0321 0.043 0.038

27. Table A2. Logistic regression results for models of egalitarian decision making for the decision about how to spend one's own income, Ecuador 2010 Baseline ModelModel IModel II Coeff. (β)Std. Err. of β Coeff. (β)Std. Err. of β Coeff. (β)Std. Err. of β Intercept-2.275***0.408-2.260***0.414-2.710***0.435 Woman's age-0.016**0.007-0.021***0.007-0.017**0.007 Age difference (man's age - woman's age)-0.0080.012-0.0100.012-0.0070.012 Woman's years of schooling0.032*0.0190.035*0.0190.0300.019 Schooling difference (man - woman)0.0310.0220.036*0.0220.0320.022 Rural (Urban)0.446***0.1560.348**0.1600.412***0.157 Coast (Highlands)-0.396***0.151-0.414***0.158-0.388**0.152 Consensual Union (Married)-0.2860.185-0.1970.189-0.2340.186 Couple's wealth (in thousands of USD)0.0000.002-0.0010.0020.0000.002 Previous Relationships (Neither in a previous relationship) Woman only has been in a previous relationship0.0530.2670.1020.2680.1050.268 Man only has been in a previous relationship-0.0030.254-0.0030.258-0.0250.257 Both have been in a previous relationship-0.1020.3350.0470.3350.0390.341 Who is employed (outside the home)? (Husband only) Wife only0.872*0.4970.942**0.4950.935*0.493 Both1.758***0.1911.766***0.1921.772***0.191 Neither0.7310.4620.793*0.4650.7410.467 Who earns more (Man earns the most) Woman earns the most0.1630.3080.1340.3100.1130.307 Earn the same0.877***0.2020.838***0.2030.844***0.203 Disagree about earnings0.2040.2060.1450.2090.1730.207 Assets & Wealth (Neither own real estate) Wife only owns asset(s)-0.4610.347 Husband only owns asset(s)-0.2280.271 Both own asset(s)0.455**0.182 Woman's share of wealth2.649***0.932 Woman's share of wealth squared-2.792***0.937 Number of cases (N)1635 Likelihood ratio chi-square (df)179.24 (17)***189.58 (20)***183.96 (19)*** Pseudo R 2 0.144 0.154 0.150

28. 5. Comparative Perspectives on the Gender Wealth Gap CountryFemale Share of Physical Wealth (%) Ecuador53.0 Ghana30.2 Karnataka, India19.0

29. Explanatory Variables Rural 35%, Urban 65% Coast 53% Highlands, 47% Consensual unions 35% Married 65% Previous Relationships Wife only 7% Husband only 9% Both 8% Neither 77%

30. Explanatory Variables Migrated (previously) Wife only 1% Husband only 3% Both 1% Neither 95% Who is employed? Wife only 4% Husband only 45% Both 47% Neither 4%