Individual property rights and bargaining outcomes: evidence from intra-household asset data

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of the decision-making process among couples. Using an expanded conceptualization of decision-making, this paper explores factors that affect convergence or divergence between spousal perceptions. In particular, the paper considers the impact of women's property status, specifically, their ownership of a house or land, on decision-making within households using data from the Karnataka Household Asset Survey, 2010-11, which collected individual-level asset ownership and valuation information. The results suggest that property ownership improves women's their autonomy in decision making but does not impact egalitarianism in decision-making between couples.