Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Developing Countries: Models, Methods and Policy

Across the globe, gender disparities still exist with regard to equitable access to resources, participation in decision-making processes, and gender and sexual-based violence. This is particularly true in fragile and conflict-affected settings, where women and girls are affected by both fragility and conflict in unique ways. While women have been acknowledged as key actors in peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction (e.g., through the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda) evidence on the effectiveness of gender-specific and gender-transformative interventions to improve women's empowerment in fragile and conflict-affected states and situations (FCAS) remains understudied.The purpose of this review was to synthesize the body of evidence around gender-specific and gender-transformative interventions aimed at improving women's empowerment in fragile and conflict-affected settings with high levels of gender inequality. We also aimed to identify barriers and facilitators that could affect the effectiveness of these interventions and to provide implications for policy, practice and research designs within the field of transitional aid.We searched for and screened over 100,000 experimental and quasi-experimental studies focused on FCAS at the individual and community levels. We used standard methodological procedures outlined by the Campbell Collaboration for the data collection and analysis, including quantitative and qualitative analyses, and completed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) methodology to assess the certainty around each body of evidence.We identified 104 impact evaluations (75% randomised controlled trials) assessing the effects of 14 different types of interventions in FCAS. About 28% of included studies were assessed as having a high risk of bias (45% among quasi-experimental designs). Interventions supporting women's empowerment and gender equality in FCAS produced positive effects on the outcomes related to the primary focus of the intervention. There are no significant negative effects of any included interventions. However, we observe smaller effects on behavioural outcomes further along the causal chain of empowerment. Qualitative syntheses indicated that gender norms and practices are potential barriers to intervention effectiveness, while working with local powers and institutions can facilitate the uptake and legitimacy of interventions.We observe gaps of rigorous evidence in certain regions (notably MENA and Latin America) and in interventions specifically targeting women as actors of peacebuilding. Gender norms and practices are important elements to consider in programme design and implementation to maximise potential benefits: focusing on empowerment only might not be enough in the absence of targeting the restrictive gender norms and practices that may undermine intervention effectiveness. Lastly, programme designers and implementation should consider explicitly targeting specific empowerment outcomes, promoting social capital and exchange, and tailoring the intervention components to the desired empowerment-related outcomes. 

/pdf/strengthening-women-s-empowerment-and-gender-equality-in-25cgyitq.pdf

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

/pdf/how-does-gendered-vulnerability-shape-the-adoption-and-4ecowsd76l.pdf

How does gendered vulnerability shape the adoption and impact of sustainable livelihood interventions in an era of global climate change

How does adoption of labor saving agricultural technologies affect intrahousehold resource allocations? The case of push-pull technology in Western Kenya

This study assessed access to and control over agricultural income and labor among smallholder farmers in Chipata, Zambia. Data was collected through 120 structured interviews, three focus group discussions, 17 key informant interviews, and desk analysis. Results show that joint decision making over agricultural income was fairly common (48 percent) in male-headed households, but uncommon (19 percent) in female-headed households. Men dominated decisions regarding household investments and livestock sales, while decisions about crop sales were jointly made with the women. Local gender norms restricted women’s mobility and limited women’s participation in more lucrative distant markets. Our results suggest that joint decision making among married couples is more common than routinely assumed, and assignment of control over agricultural resources is vested based on household headship, and not primarily gender. Our work highlights the importance of micro-level studies to inform program design and cautions against interventions based on assumptions of unilateral decision making by male household heads.

Access to and control over agricultural labor and income in smallholder farming households: a gendered look from Chipata, Eastern Zambia

In this paper, we examine the impact of soil conservation adoption on gender-specific resource allocations within households in Zambia. The extension of funding of conservation farming (CF) training sessions in 2007 in specific districts in Zambia provides variation in CF takeup. We use this variation to implement a difference-in-differences strategy on a number of datasets. We show that expansion of funding for CF training sessions increased take-up of CF, increased female labour hours, and shifted household expenditures towards goods associated more strongly with female preferences than male preferences. These results stress the importance of understanding the impact of development programmes, specifically promotion of agricultural technologies, on household gender dynamics.

/pdf/impact-of-soil-conservation-adoption-on-intra-household-nvwewrlavm.pdf

Impact of soil conservation adoption on intra‐household allocations in Zambia

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Impact of soil conservation adoption on intra‐household allocations in Zambia