Publication Details
Asset accumulation and vulnerability to poverty
insights using the life history approach
Abena D. Oduro
2010
Abstract
Assets are an important aspect of an individual’s or household’s strategy to manage risk and cope with negative events. Studies have been conducted that suggest that ownership of assets by women has positive implications for the well-being of their children and can be empowering. There is evidence that women are less likely to own assets compared to men and indeed are less likely to own some types of assets, for example, land. Assets may be accumulated through three major channels. They may be purchased using one’s earnings or through the receipt of a loan or remittance. The second channel is through inheritance and the third is through the receipt of the asset as a gift. The ability of women to acquire and accumulate assets is dependent on their participation in the labour market, labour market rules and norms, and inheritance norms and practices. This paper will use life history data collected from 8 women in the Eastern, Volta and Northern regions of Ghana to examine the factors that impinge on the opportunity of women to acquire assets over the life-cycle.
Publication Type(s)
Conference Paper
Ten Years of War Against Poverty Conference Papers
Conference: Ten Years of War Against Poverty