In a posting on the World Bank’s blog, there is an article that points out that wives and daughters don’t have the same inheritance rights as husbands and sons in developing countries. In those countries, ownership of land is important and keeping that land in production benefits the whole economic climate. However, since women’s inheritance rights are limited, women may not be willing to put in the work necessary to keep the land in production. Their rights are often temporary rather than permanent. The article suggest that changes in inheritance laws will produce a range of socioeconomic improvements in those countries.
