In rural societies, passing down land and providing an education are the main ways parents assure the future welfare of their children. If, however, parents educate their sons and not their daughters and only sons inherit land, women will be worse off compared to men. Is the distribution of income and welfare between men and women changing? While many studies have documented that education of women is increasing in developing countries, evidence on changes in women’s land rights is scarce. Knowing how men and women acquire land and human capital is the basis for determining the extent of this gender problem and how to solve it.

The authors of this book identify the factors affecting land inheritance and schooling across generations in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Ghana--countries with very different social and cultural traditions. Based on household surveys at each site, the authors examine how these factors affect the distribution of income and spending in the household as a whole and among its individual members. They look at how these differences in land holdings and education affect what sons and daughters will earn over their lifetimes. To help right gender imbalances, the authors consider policies to encourage adoption of labor-intensive agricultural technologies, to extend and strengthen school systems in rural areas, to promote competition in off-farm labor markets, and to eliminate discrimination against women. The authors conclude that there is no conflict between policies to enhance the efficiency of investments in land and human capital and policies to promote gender equity.

The broad-based analysis will interest scholars in economics, anthropology, gender studies, sociology, and area studies.

"This is an excellent micro empirical study of an important topic for developing countries…The authors demonstrate considerable knowledge about the economies and cultures under investigation, which enriches the analysis. The result is a very useful study not only of intergenerational transfers in rural areas of the three countries considered, but for which the comparative analysis adds insight beyond that possible with any of the individual studies in isolation—making this book a contribution beyond the related articles on individual country experiences that the authors have already published...

[T]his book is a significant contribution for understanding generally and for informing policy analysis. It is a useful model of how valuable comparative research can be undertaken with systematic modeling guiding the analysis and with rich special comparable micro data making possible for the first time most of the empirical analysis. As such, it goes far beyond most comparative studies in the social sciences on development issues. It deals with very important topics for understanding distribution within generations and productivity growth over time. The book should be of considerable interest to many scholars in agricultural economics, anthropology, demography, economics, family studies, gender studies, international comparative studies of development, rural studies, and sociology."

--Jere R. Behrman, University of Pennsylvania, Economic Development and Cultural Change 54 (2): 521-523, 2006
[see Full Review]

"The mix of institutional detail with empirical analysis makes this book very compelling and informative reading.... this book rewards the reader with fascinating cultural detail and a much broader scope of analysis than is usually attempted for studies on the dynamics of gender equity."

--Agricultural Economics 32 (3): 330 (Book reviews 2005)

"How parents around the world pass on wealth to their children, whether land or education, affects the future of next generations. Collecting and analyzing unique data in three countries, the authors immensely expand our understanding of how these choices are made in different contexts and, more importantly, why land reform or education polices might fail to produce intended changes. This book should be compulsory reading for those who contemplate such policies. The analysis is grounded solidly in empirical facts and economic models, and enriched by a profound appreciation for how societies function and cultures differ."

--Elizabeth King, Lead Economist, East Asia Region, World Bank

"This is a useful, interesting and relevant book. It provides a valuable synthesis and new evidence on land distribution patterns and gender inequality in three countries that are often discussed as development examples. The use of a unified approach and methodology across country case studies is welcome (and, indeed, rare) and this provides valuable insights into the differences and similarities in these processes across countries."

--Markus Goldstein, Lecturer in Development Economics, London School of Economics

Agnes R. Quisumbing is a senior research fellow at IFPRI.

Jonna P. Estudillo is an assistant professor of economics at the University of the Philippines School of Economics, Quezon City.

Keijiro Otsuka is a professorial fellow at the Foundation for Advanced Studies in International Development, Tokyo, Japan.

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