Property Rights, Inheritance, and Female Education in Kenya

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

This project studies institutional change in two contexts among Kenyan pastoralists: the shift from communal to private property and the advent of formal education of girls. The research analyzes the transition from communal to private land ownership and shows the consequences of this shift for economic well being and social relations; in addition the project illustrates the effects of female education on social norms related to property rights and intra-household bargaining. The study will employs a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, life history interviews of women, and structured questionnaire surveys. The intellectual merit of this project is that it provides an actual case of institutional change which will provide a stronger basis for improving theories of how such change occurs; in addition the project shows how individuals and groups behave strategically over time to enhance their bargaining positions in order to work for institutional arrangements that they perceive to be in their interests; as well the work contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the theory of institutional change. This study will also provide longitudinal data regarding the economic outcomes of privatizing communal land among African pastoralists. Scholars often assume that privatization results in negative outcomes for pastoralists, but empirical data necessary to assess this assumption-especially longitudinal data-are missing. In addition, this detailed ethnographic investigation of formal education of female pastoralists will enhance understanding of both the process and outcomes of female education among a very marginal group, and will contribute to theories regarding how educated women influence the course of institutional change. Broader impact. This study will contribute to policy debates over property rights and female education in Kenya and Africa, both of which are currently hotly contested, particularly due to the ongoing Kenyan Constitutional review in which fundamental laws regarding property and women's rights are being decided. The new knowledge created through this study will be highly relevant to scholars in the fields of women's and gender studies as well as development practitioners concerned with land rights, pastoralism, and education design.