居住权？土地正式化与贝宁寡妇居住权安全的长期实验证据
Right to stay? Long-run experimental evidence on land formalization and widows’ tenure security in Benin
Journal of Development Economics · 2025 · [{"name": "Ioana Botea", "affiliation": ["World Bank"]}, {"name": "Markus Goldstein", "affiliation": ["Center for Global Development"]}, {"name": "Kenneth Houngbedji", "affiliation": ["Institut de Recherche pour le Développement", "Université Paris Dauphine-PSL"]}, {"name": "Florence Kondylis", "affiliation": ["World Bank"]}, {"name": "Michael O’Sullivan", "affiliation": ["World Bank"]}, {"name": "Harris Selod", "affiliation": ["World Bank"]}]
中文摘要
在世界许多地区，妇女的土地权利仍处于非正式状态，这使得寡妇——尤其是没有男性继承人的寡妇——在丈夫去世后面临失去土地和住房的高风险。我们利用贝宁农村一项随机对照试验的数据，研究大规模土地正规化项目能否改善寡妇的土地保有权安全性。干预实施四年后，在实行土地正规化的村庄，寡妇留在原住所的可能性显著更高，且在没有男性继承人的寡妇中这一效应最强。我们识别出两个关键机制：社区对妇女土地权利认可度的提高，以及妇女对土地资源决策权的增强。这些发现凸显了土地正规化在类似情境下增强妇女土地保有权安全、促进其长期经济稳定的潜力。
Abstract
In many parts of the world, women’s land rights remain informal, leaving widows – especially those without a male heir – at high risk of losing access to their land and homes when their husbands die. We study whether large-scale land formalization programs can improve widows’ tenure security, using data from a randomized controlled trial in rural Benin. Four years after the intervention, widows in villages with land formalization were significantly more likely to remain in their homes, with the strongest effects among those without a male heir. We identify two key mechanisms: increased community recognition of women’s land rights and greater decision-making power over land resources. These findings highlight the potential of land formalization to strengthen women’s tenure security and promote their long-term economic stability in similar settings.