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This study deals with the effect of microcredit on women’s livelihood and empowerment in rural areas of Cote d’Ivoire. A cross-section survey was conducted among 185 borrowers from two microfinance institutions and 209 nonborrowers in rural areas of Cote d’Ivoire. In addition, a focus group discussion was held with each of the two women groups. After matching the two groups on the probability of obtaining credit, we found that the microcredit group on average had a higher income and a higher value of household assets than the non-borrowers. No differences in the value of personal women’s assets were found. Furthermore, on one hand women’s decision-making power in the household, as indicated by their strategic gender needs, was positively related to the probability of obtaining microcredit. On the other hand receiving microcredit tended to increase their decisionmaking power.
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Evidence shows that secure land rights have positive effects on poor people in general and women in particular, especially where households previously had little security. Several countries in Africa have been undertaking land reform initiatives that prohibit gender-based discrimination; however, the results revealed a substantial gap between the development of laws and their effective implementation. This paper draws attention to the political systems within which land tenure and property rights operate, especially for women. It also points out the main challenges in securing women’s land rights in Africa and highlights the economic, social and environmental benefits of increasing women’s access to land. The analysis shows that although many of the changes in policy and law appear to be legal and technical, access to and control over land is in practice related to socio-economic characteristics and governed by cultural practices and power relations at the family, community and country levels. The paper therefore recognizes the need for innovative approaches that go beyond property rights in operationalising strategies that strengthen women’s access to land. It is not enough for land legislation to be gender-sensitive; it must be gender-transformational. Land markets could potentially contribute to this transformation but their role is still limited by poor institutional capacity. The roles that different actors (women, men, women’s organizations, community leaders, donors) can play would be crucial in the process of securing women’s access to land in Africa.