Unintended Consequences of Women's Inheritance Rights on Female Mortality in India

摘要

This article highlights the unintended adverse consequences of constraining household economic decisions. If parents have strong son preferences and are forced to give equal inheritances to sons and daughters, this can drive up the cost of daughters and lead to higher child mortality. The results from this article should not be misconstrued to argue that women should not be given equal inheritance rights. Indeed, as shown in prior research on inheritance rights in India, it is likely that many women are made better off by having access to inheritance later in life. However, if policy makers can anticipate the potential downside of a policy they can counteract the downside before it occurs. For example, the government could enact policies to increase spending on child health care or directly subsidize the survival of girls through transfer payments. Increasing gender equality in India is an important and necessary policy goal. However, household incentives must be taken into consideration when trying to anticipate the effects of new legislation.