The Determinants of Gender Equity in India

Examining Dyson and Moore's Thesis with New Data

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4120345
AutoresLupin Rahman (London School of Economics and Political Science), Vyjayanthi Rao (0000-0002-6725-8984, World Bank Group), Vijayendra Rao
Año2004
Volumen30
Número2
Páginas239-268
Fecha de publicación2004-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPopulation and Development Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0098-7921 • E-ISSN: 1728-4457
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.012_1.x
OpenAlexW2031176484
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas99
Referencias citadas29

In revisiting the influential Dyson and Moore (1983) hypothesis as to why women in South India enjoy relatively more agency than in the North, we conducted an econometric analysis of the determinants of women's mobility and decisionmaking authority. Data for the study come from a household data survey carried out in the Northern state of Uttar Pradesh and in the Southern state of Karnataka in 1995. We find that cross-cousin and uncle-niece marriage is more prevalent in Karnataka as expected. Contrary to Dyson and Moore, however, by 1995 a majority of communities in both North and South practiced village exogamy, and dowries in the two regions were of similar size. Reduced-form, multivariate regressions show that cultural factors affect women's autonomy in ways not earlier predicted. The impact of village exogamy is mixed rather than negative, while that of consanguinity is strongly negative rather than positive as Dyson and Moore surmised. These authors correctly identified the negative effect purdah has on female mobility. Consistent with economic theory, our data show that higher wages for women consistently improve their mobility and authority, while higher male wages decrease them. Improvements in infrastructure-particularly the presence of street lights and schools in the village-are associated with increased women's agency. We conclude, therefore, that economic factors, state action, and restrictions on mobility seem more powerful than kinship structures as explanations of differences in female autonomy between North and South India

Agency (philosophy) · Autonomy · Demographic economics · Dowry · Economics · Endogamy · Equity (law) · Exogamy · Geography · Kinship · Political science · Population · Social science · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare