Land Live: Land ownership in Rural India and Intra Household Exchanges

The incidence of parent-child co-residence in India is among the highest in the world. This paper examines the role of intra-household exchanges and potential bequests in creating incentives for adult children to provide money, time and effort in caring for their parents. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), this paper examines the role of land ownership in shaping intrahousehold relations. The results presented in this paper highlight two observations: (1) Land ownership is strongly associated with increased power and prestige of the older members of the household and is reflected in their residence patterns, access to household resources as well as participation and control over major family decisions, and; (2) These effects vary by gender with older women from land owning families more likely to be living in extended households, but with relatively smaller gains in terms of power and prestige within the household.