Impact of Access to Land on Women’s Economic Well-Being: An Empirical Evidence From Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

Rural women in Bangladesh usually have lack of access, control and ownership over their land property because of existing patriarchal norms of the rural society. The prime objective of this study was to assess the impact of rural women’s access to land on their income as well as household income. A multistage, geographically clustered, probability-based sampling approach was adopted for this study. Primary data were collected from the rural women living in two selected districts of Bangladesh. The Propensity Score Matching technique was used to assess the impact of land accessibility on household income and rural women’s income. The Binary Logistic Regression technique was used to assess women’s opinions. The study findings revealed that land had a positive impact on household income but rural women’s income did not increase significantly despite having access to land. This study also showed that income, level of education, the existence of NGO operated programs in villages, and the number of visits to NGO offices by rural women were the key factors contributing to improving their overall well-being. Findings imply that the government should design an appropriate land ownership policy that guarantees titling as well as access for women to land.