1. The Gender Asset Gap Project in Ghana
Abena D. Oduro
Department of Economics and Centre for Social Policy Studies
University of Ghana
Presented at
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation. Gender and Irrigation Workshop
Best Western Hotel, Airport, Accra
14th April 2016

2. Outline of Presentation
Objectives of the Gender Asset Gap project
Methods
Main Findings
Methodological Insights

3. Gender Asset Gap Project Description
A joint initiative of:
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bangalore
University of Ghana, Ghana
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) – Ecuador
Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida (USA)
Yale University (USA)
American University (USA)
Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the MDG3 Fund for Gender Equality

4. Project Objectives
Implement a multi-topic household survey that asks about women’s access to, control over, and ownership of a range of productive assets, including housing, land, livestock, businesses, savings, and consumer durables.
Analyze the data to determine the patterns of asset ownership between men and women, gendered patterns of asset acquisition, and the importance of asset ownership for women’s well-being and empowerment
Develop a measure of the gender-asset gap that can be used across and within countries, and
Engage with national and international statistical agencies to encourage them to include individual level asset questions in regularly administered surveys.

5. Methods Qualitative field work
Large-scale household survey of all forms of physical/financial assets

6. Qualitative Survey: GHANA
Qualitative data collection in communities in the 10 administrative regions
Focus group discussion of two female groups and one male group
Key informant interviews

7. Survey Features, cont. All forms of physical and financial assets
Principal residence
Agricultural land
Other real estate
Livestock
Agricultural tools and equipment
Non-farm businesses
Consumer durables
Financial assets

8. What Informed the Design of the Questionnaire?
The need to obtain information on:
Owners of all assets owned by members of the household.
The household asset inventory was designed to achieve this for physical assets.
The form of ownership, i.e. Whether assets are owned individually or jointly
Factors that are correlated with asset ownership, for example the marital and inheritance regimes
Questions on marital and inheritance regimes, modes of asset acquisition were designed with this objective in mind
The qualitative survey that preceded the quantitative household survey
This informed the decision to ask questions on financial assets in the individual questionnaire
The financial cost of implementing the survey

9. Structure of the Questionnaire
Household Roster
Household Asset Inventory
Consumption module
Individual Questionnaire

10. Definitions of Ownership
Ownership – response to the question, who owns this ….?
Documented ownership – is there any type of ownership document? Sales receipt, will, registered deed, etc.
Ownership rights
Right to sell
Right to bequeath
Right to use as collateral
Right to rent
Right to make improvements

11. Measures of the Gender Asset & Wealth Gaps
1) Form of Ownership
2) Share of Owners: Distribution Gap
3) Gender asset gap: Incidence Gap
4) Gender wealth gap: Share of asset value

12. Distribution of the Form of Ownership
For each specific type of asset, cannot aggregate
Unit of analysis is the asset:
A parcel of land
An individual animal
A savings account
Provides information on how each asset is owned

13. Distribution of the Form of Ownership
Ownership may be individual or joint
May own joint with spouse (or partner in a consensual union)
May be joint with another member of the household
May be joint with someone outside the household
May be owned by “all household members”

15. Measuring the Distribution Gap
The first measure of the gender asset gap is the distribution by sex of asset owners, irrespective of form of ownership or number of assets owned.
Gap 1:
The sample is asset owners

17. Measuring the Gender Incidence Gap
The proportion of the population of women, men (aged 18 and above) who own the particular asset (irrespective of form of ownership.)

19. The Gender Wealth Gap; Meaning and Issues
Issues to consider
Different ways of asking about the value of the asset
If you were to sell the asset today, how much would you receive?
How much would it cost to construct a dwelling like this today?
For how much could a dwelling like this in this neighbourhood be rented per month?

20. The Gender Wealth Gap; Meaning and Issues – Cont...
Gross versus net value;
The challenge posed by joint ownership;
Inconsistent information on the value;
Missing information on asset value

21. Basic Measures of the Gender Wealth Gap
A comparison of the total value of females’ assets with the total value of males’ assets;
Total value of females’ assets, as a percentage of the total value of males’ assets;
Females’ share of the total value of assets;

23. Ownership Rights (Right to Sell)
Alone
In consultation
Someone else has the right
Cannot sell
There is no market

25. Methodological Insights
Qualitative data to provide information on context is important
Useful to ask more than one valuation question
Ownership has many layers. Collect information on all dimensions of ownership.
Ask rights questions of both reported owners and people who do not report themselves to be owners

26. Project website: http://www.genderassetgap.org
Thank You
Project website:
The Gender Asset Gap Project