Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Women's Studies International Forum

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wsif

Effects of macro-economic factors on women's formal land ownership

status in Cameroon
Ambe J. Njoh a,⁎, Erick O. Ananga b, Ijang B. Ngyah-Etchutambe c, Hans Tata Tabrey c,
Celestina F. Tassang d, Joan Asafor-Mangeh e
a
School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
b
Dept. of Political Science & Legal Studies, East Central University, Ada, OK, United States
c
University of Buea, Cameroon
d
Sociology and Anthropology, University of Buea, Cameroon
e
Ministry of Justice, Cameroon

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The problem of gender inequality in formal land ownership in Africa is often attributed to African indigenous cul-
Received 9 March 2017 ture. Deviating from convention, this study considers the problem to be a function of macroeconomic factors. Em-
Received in revised form 25 May 2017 pirical data were drawn from Cameroon. Multiple regression analyses involving natural logarithm and
Accepted 27 May 2017
commensurate statistics were employed to analyze the data. Gender inequality, the dependent variable, was op-
Available online xxxx
erationalized as the percentage of land titles issued to men minus the percentage issued to women. Two macro-
Keywords:
economic indicators, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita gross national income (GNI),
Cameroon comprised the predictor variables. A strong inverse relation between the dependent and predictor variables
Economic development was hypothesized. Multiple tests validated all but one of the hypotheses. This revelation suggests that economic
GDP per capita growth-promoting strategies can lead to the evaporation of gender-based gaps in access to land. The revelation is
Gender inequality consistent with neoclassical theories that consider economic development a viable tool for improving the status
GNI per capita of women. A positive relation between per capita GNI and gender inequality, conflicting with the hypothesized
Land link, was found. This implies a need to redistribute the fruits of development in order to, inter alia, narrow the
Women in development
gender-based discrepancies in access to land.
© 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Introduction
National governments have taken several actions to combat discrim-
ination against women in Africa since World War II. For example, they
are signatories of the UN General Assembly's Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of 1948, the Platform of Action of the 1995 Beijing
World Conference on Women, and the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) of 2000. Gender equality features prominently, as Goal
Number 3—“promote equality and empower women”—of these goals.
Most importantly, under the aegis of the African Union, African govern-
ments adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Women in 2003. This is a
supplementary protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's
Rights, which has been in force since 1981.
Despite these initiatives, gender inequality remains prevalent in all
domains in Africa. Girls continue to have less access to education, and
are tasked with more household chores, than boys throughout the con-
tinent. Women continue to be discriminated against in the labor market
and have less access to economic resources than men. This latter
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: njoh@usf.edu (A.J. Njoh).
problem is most severe in the land domain where women own only 1
to 2% of titled land (Rabenhorst, 2011: 1). As noted in the 2013 MDGs
Report, gender inequalities of this sort remain commonplace through-
out the continent. In one African country after another, women's oppor-
tunities for land ownership as guaranteed under both statutory and
customary laws are often less than those available to men (Chu, 2011).
Why does the problem persist despite efforts to address it? Stated al-
ternatively, what are the causes of gender inequality in land ownership
status in Africa? Efforts to discern these causes, almost always conclude
by pointing the accusatory finger at indigenous African culture (see e.g.,
USAID, Online; Nadasen, 2012; Fonjong, 2010; Fonjong et al., 2013;
Fombe, Sama-Lang, Fonjong, & Mbah-Fongkimeh, 2013; Kimani, 2008;
Rugege et al., 2007; Bigombe & Bikie, 2003). Yet, it is clear that one fac-
tor alone is incapable of explaining a problem as complex and as multi-
faceted as gender-based inequalities. Therefore, many gaps remain in
our knowledge of factors accounting for this problem.
The main objective of the study reported here is to help fill these
gaps. It does so by exploring economic, as opposed to generic socio-cul-
tural and political factors that explain gender-based differentials in
access to land. Gender-based inequalities in land ownership is consid-
ered a function of European colonial land reform measures that have

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2017.05.006
0277-5395/© 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
2 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
been vigorously maintained by their post-colonial authorities through-
out Africa. The empirical referent of the study is Cameroon. This is the
only African country colonized by three different European powers
(see below). Hence, it is ideally suitable for exploring questions on Euro-
centric influences on land tenure and their implications for access to
land by different societal groups. The next section briefly discusses the
evolution of land tenure modernization initiatives and their implica-
tions for women's access to land in the country. This is followed by a re-
view of the burgeoning literature on gender inequality in access to
valuable resources of which land is only one example. A subsequent sec-
tion presents the study's methodology, including the data, data sources
and main variables. This is followed by a presentation of the main find-
ings. The final section discusses the findings and concludes the paper.
Background: land tenure reforms and women's access to land in
Cameroon
Cameroon came under the colonial orbit of three European powers
viz., Germany (1884–1916), Britain and France (1919–1960/61). The
Germans began the land tenure modernization process in the country
in the late-1800s. The process, which entailed mainly land commodifi-
cation, began formally on July 15, 1896 with the promulgation of the
Crown Lands Act (Njoh, 2012, 1996; Meek, 1957). The act sought to con-
vert all so-called unoccupied lands throughout the territory into proper-
ty of the German Overseas dominions. Alongside this, the Germans
introduced an official land register (the Grundbuck) to record all land
transactions as an element of land commodification. Thenceforth, land
could be sold and/or exchanged on the free market. Most initiatives in
this regard were taken under the watch of Jesko von Putkamer (1855–
1917) (Njoh, 2012). He was the country's first colonial Governor-Gener-
al, who served nine different non-continuous terms in that capacity be-
tween 1887 and 1906. In 1903, he ordered the creation of ‘native
reserves’ to encamp the Bakweri, that is, the indigenous peoples of the
Mount Cameroon region (Meek, 1957). The aim was to make way for
German commercial plantation agriculture on the region's fertile volca-
nic land. This action effectively curtailed women's access to land. During
the German colonial era, Bakweri men were mainly hunters and fisher-
men, while the women were subsistence farmers (Meek, 1957). There-
fore, women, because of the nature of their activities, were most
negatively affected by German land confiscation schemes.
The German colonial era in Cameroon abruptly ended subsequent to
the conclusion of World War I. The negotiations that ensued culminated
in converting Cameroon into two unequal Trust Territories of the
League of Nations. The larger portion (4/5) of the territory was placed
on French colonial control as French Cameroun. The smaller portion
was placed under the colonial auspices of Britain. This portion was di-
vided into two parts, British Northern Cameroons and British Southern
Cameroons. French colonial authorities operated two systems of land
laws in their part of the territory (Njoh, 2012). One system, l'indigènat,
governed lands belonging to, and controlled by, unassimilated members
of the ‘native’ population or les indegènes. The other governed European
residents and assimilated members of the indigenous population (i.e.,
les assimilés or les evolués). Through this dual system, French colonial au-
thorities acknowledged, at least in theory, the existence of customary
rights to land. However, the Decree of 12 January 1938 nullified this
by declaring all so-called ‘unoccupied’ and ‘ownerless’ land (i.e., terres
vacantes et sans maître) property of the colonial state (Fisiy, 1992: 35;
Njoh, 2003: 82). This meant, inter alia, that customary norms, which
recognized collective rights were effectively voided.
Unlike the French, British colonial authorities did well to recognize
alternative claims of entitlement to land throughout British Northern
and Southern Cameroons, the smaller portion of the territory, under
their control. This was in concert with the principle of indirect rule,
which was a kingpin of British colonial administration in Africa. It is
therefore not surprising that in 1927 British colonial authorities
moved to adopt colonial Northern Nigeria's Land and Native Rights
Ordinance in Southern Cameroons. The Germans continued to operate
the vast plantations they had created because there were no willing
and able allied parties to take them over (Meek, 1957). The population
of the region grew rather rapidly thanks to people from hinterland areas
who had immigrated to work in the plantations. Colonial labor practices
were unfavourable to women. Hence, while the men were absorbed by
the plantations, their wives, like women native to the area, practiced
subsistence farming. For this, they had to trek long distances to reach
the precarious lands that proved obstinate for plantation agriculture.
This was yet another way by which colonial land-related activities
boded ill for women exclusively.
French Cameroun ascended to independence in 1960, while British
Northern and Southern Cameroons were still UN Trust Territories. On
February 11, 1961, the UN organized a plebiscite asking each of the ter-
ritories to opt to become independent by joining either Nigeria or the
Republic of Cameroun. British Northern Cameroons voted to become in-
dependent as part of Nigeria while Southern Cameroons voted to gain
independence as part of Cameroun. This latter union gave birth to a fed-
erated state, the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Two subsequent politi-
cal developments resulted in the country taking on new names, namely
United Republic of Cameroon in 1972, and the Republic of Cameroon, its
current appellation, in 1984. The details pertaining to these develop-
ments fall outside the scope of this paper. Suffice to state that neither
the ascension to independence nor these latter developments spelled
the demise of Eurocentric land laws in the country. Instead, the indige-
nous authorities have since always been preoccupied with efforts to
completely erase all traces of indigenous land tenure throughout the
country. The country's landmark land law of 1974 (revised in 1976) ex-
emplifies this trend. It recognizes only formal instruments attesting to
claims of entitlement to land and requires the registration of all land ti-
tles in the National Land Register. Land Ordinance No. 77-1 of 10 January
1977, mandated that urban land owners had until 6 July 1984, and rural
land owners, until July 6, 1989, to convert all land deeds or certificates of
occupancy into land certificates. With this law, Cameroonian authorities
effectively completed the land commodification process initiated by the
Germans. At the same time, they ensured that ‘ability-to-pay’ became
the sole determinant of access to land in the country. The Cameroonian
state's actions in this regard were mainly ideological and had nothing to
do with making access to land more equitable for all, let alone women.
Njoh (1996: 417) underscores the ideological rationale for the land re-
forms in the following words.
… the reforms constitute an ideological buttress designed to perpet-
uate the historical legacy which links private property to the private
ownership of the means of production characteristic of capitalism.
Implementation and compliance with the country's landmark land
law have been slow. Witness the fact that only few land titles have
been issued since the law was enacted. As shown in Fig. 1, statistics
from as recently as 2008 to 2013 reveal that the pace of land title reg-
istration remains sluggish. To contextualize the statistics, note that
Cameroon has a population of 22.5 million and a land area of
475.440 km2 (183,568 sq. miles). As we show later, women remain
the least capable of complying with the law. Their inability to comply
results from several factors, including the fact that they face more
time, financial and other resource constraints than men (Njoh,
2012). Thus, there is no question that land is less accessible to
women than men in the country.
To be sure, authorities are on record for making some efforts to re-
dress this situation. Early initiatives in this connection date back to
1978 when two notable judgments (No. 43 of 16 January, and No 157
of 25 June) were reached (UNECA, 2010). Although the judgments
pertained to the Douala, an indigenous Cameroonian group, they effec-
tively rendered denying a woman the right to inherit property unconsti-
tutional. This is in accordance with the National Constitution of 2 June
1972, which proclaims equality of the sexes.
 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
Fig. 1. Land titles issued from 2008 to 2013 by region.
Source: INSC, 2013.
Institutional efforts to eliminate aspects of the indigenous inheri-
tance clause that discriminate against women are laudable. However,
it is worth noting that only an insignificant proportion of land, particu-
larly in urban areas is procured through inheritance. The ‘ability-to-pay’
has emerged as the dominant criterion for procuring such land especial-
ly with the increasing global trend towards capitalism. To the extent
that this is true, we posit that women's relatively limited access to
land in Cameroon is a function of economic as opposed to cultural
dynamics.
The literature: theory and evidence on gender inequality in access to
land
Land accounts for a substantial share of the GDP in many countries
(Dale, 1997). It accounts for three-quarters of the wealth of developing
nations (De Soto, 2000). Land is of utmost importance in Africa where it
constitutes the primary form of development capital, and where most of
the active labor force is engaged in agriculture. For instance, in Kenya,
agriculture employs 80% of the active labor and provides 60% of the na-
tional income (Strickland, 2004: 18). Formal international acknowledg-
ment of access to land as a basic human right dates back to the 1990s,
particularly with the HABITAT II conference. Also known as the City
Summit, the conference, which was held in Istanbul in 1996, accentuat-
ed the need to guarantee access to land for all. Yet, women continue to
face more hurdles than men in their bid to acquire land and/or formalize
their claims of entitlement to land. One manifestation of this problem is
the unequal number of land titles obtained by men and women in
3
developing countries. Efforts to discern the factors accounting for such
inequalities fall under two categories, qualitative and quantitative.
The qualitative literature
Most works in this category identify indigenous culture as the cause
of prevailing gender inequalities in access to land in Africa. Nadasen
(2012: 44) expressed this prevailing viewpoint when she stated thus:
Currently, patriarchal and customary tenure systems are dominant
features that configure land rights for rural women. Gender inequal-
ities associated with these systems socially, economically and polit-
ically displace women from a position where they hold some control
over resources and decisions.
An authoritative UN Human Rights report echoed these sentiments
in the following words (UN Human Rights, 2013: 2):
In many communities gender disparities with regard to land and
other productive resources are linked to assumptions that men, as
heads of households, control and manage land – implicitly reflecting
ideas that women are incapable of managing productive resources
such as land effectively.
Criticisms of the customary land tenure system betray a lack of un-
derstanding of African traditional culture. The patriarchal and concom-
itant patrilineal inheritance systems, both prominent features of the
culture, are not designed to dispossess women of control over resources.
Rather, they are meant to accomplish two important objectives of the
4 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
African family (Njoh, 2006; Harrington and Chopra, 2010). The first is to
ensure retention of ancestral resources such as land within the family.
The second is to ensure continuation and security of the lineage. Permit-
ting inheritance by daughters or widows within a unilineal family struc-
ture would result in transferring such resources from one patrilineage to
another. Such transfers can threaten survival of a lineage and its proge-
ny. The Eurocentric practice of women taking on their husbands' family
name upon marriage should render this line of reasoning anything but
alien to Westerners. How then, does African indigenous culture ensure
access to land for women? The following description of access to land
for women according to the customs of the Luo's of Kenya by Okeyo
(1980: 194) addresses this question:
As a lineage wife, a woman occupies the structural position which
will, potentially or in reality, differentiate one lineage from another.
In a polygynous marriage it is the maternal principle in reference to
the mother as head of house that differentiates one potential lineage
segment from another … Women's security of land tenure in cus-
tomary law is in essence rooted in their structural role as lineage
wives.
The literature also tends to err on many scores by attributing flaws in
contemporary socio-political systems in Africa to indigenous culture.
The following assertion by Jagero and Onego (2011): 23) is illustrative.
In Kenya, hardly do women own land, more so the customary beliefs
are against women engaging in land related issues. This explains
why Kenyan women don't participate in solving land disputes, and
in land distribution committees.
This criticism is indefensible on many grounds. First, in their capac-
ity as either wives or daughters, women are required by traditional Af-
rican culture to actively safeguard family property, including land.
Second, the gender-based division of labor in indigenous Africa, is
such that women have always been seen as ‘mothers of the soil’. With-
in indigenous African ethos, this view dovetails neatly into women's
reproductive role, and encapsulates the notion of fertility. In fact,
among Africa's matriarchal groups such as the Limba and Temne of Si-
erra Leone, indigenous custom recognizes women's rights to inherit/
own land. Third, the attribution to African indigenous culture of Ken-
yan women's non-participation in the land policy making process mis-
ses the mark by a wide margin. To understand the root of this problem
requires some appreciation of contemporary dynamics in Africa as a
product of two received cultures Arab/Islam and European/Christiani-
ty, fused with African indigenous culture. If nothing else, the two re-
ceived cultures did everything to minimize the role of women in the
public domain (Njoh & Akiwumi, 2012). Yet, as stated earlier, blaming
African indigenous ethos for women's relatively limited access to re-
sources in Africa is a common theme in the relevant literature. This
theme is discernible in the works of Razavi (2003), Rugege et al.
(2007), Bigombe and Bikie (2003). For them, social inequalities,
which they believe are inherent in African indigenous culture, impede
women's access to land.
We do not share this viewpoint. Instead, following in the footsteps of
Njoh (2003), we attribute the problem to institutional and economic
factors. Njoh argued that land tenure reform efforts in Cameroon have
benefited the state and societal elites—including bureaucrats, the edu-
cated class, entrepreneurs and politically-active—but negatively im-
pacted women and other societal minorities (Njoh, 2003: 119-123).
To bolster his assertion, he cited the following statistics. In the 1990s,
women received only 3.2% and 7.2% of land titles issued in the country's
North West Region and South West Region respectively (p. 127). The
data on Table 1 provide further evidence of the gender inequality char-
acterizing the land domain in Cameroon. Above all, we consider
women's relatively limited access to valuable economic resources such
as land mainly a function of economic factors. As noted by the UN
Human Rights (2013): 3):
Table 1
Land titles by sex in the North-West Regions, 1976–1985.
Source: adapted from Fisiy (1992: 107).
Division Male Female
Number Percent Number Percent
Bui 75 97.4 2 2.6
Donga 65 95.6 3 4.4
Menchum 46 97.9 1 2.1
Momo 63 95.5 3 4.5
Mezam 1099 96.6 39 3.4
Total 1273 96.5 46 3.5
Women's access to productive resources in general, and land in par-
ticular, cannot be divorced from the broader context of macroeco-
nomic policy and the global economic system. Inclusive growth
requires equal access to opportunities and resources for all segments
of society, including for both women and men.
Another common flaw in criticisms of African indigenous culture as
a vehicle for guaranteeing women's access to land is their tendency to
confound the notions of ‘access’ and ‘ownership.’ In the context of
land in indigenous African ethos, the former is meaningful while the lat-
ter is not. As Njoh (2007) has noted, in many parts of Africa, including
Cameroon, indigenous African culture never treated land as a commod-
ity that could either be owned or sold. Instead, indigenous African cul-
ture views land as a gift from God over which people have no more
than user privileges. The notion of people ‘owning’ land in Africa is a
by-product of the African conquest project—first by Arabs and then, by
Europeans. In its contemporary form, the notion constitutes part of
the land tenure formalization process initiated by European colonial
powers. Central to this has been the institutionalization of the land cer-
tificate as the sole testament of one's claim of ownership over any parcel
of land.
However, one shortcoming of the view espoused in this paper is its
failure to adequately acknowledge the importance of inheritance as a
means by which people gain land ownership rights in contemporary Af-
rica (Richardson, 2004). Usually, families and communities incorrectly
invoke indigenous African culture to guide their decisions in this regard.
In both patrilineal systems, where ancestry is traced through male kin,
and matrilineal cultures, where ancestry is traced through the female,
boys/men have the upper hand. In either case a woman's rights to
land are secure if, and only if she has older male offspring (in patrilineal
systems) or if she has a son or sons whose maternal uncle(s) own(s)
land (in matrilineal systems). Note that in both cases, a woman's access
to land depends on her ties to male relatives. However, it is worth not-
ing that most people who own land in urban Africa in general and urban
Cameroon in particular, bought as opposed to, inherited it. Therefore,
any strategy that succeeds in endowing women with economic power
is likely to close extant gender-based gaps in formal land ownership.
The quantitative literature
This literature is lagging behind its qualitative counterpart. In fact,
whatever little there is in this area has not explored the link between
gender inequality and macroeconomic factors. Of some relevance for
us here are three studies by Bezabih and Holden (2010), Jacoby and
Minten (2007) and Bezu and Holden (2014) respectively. Using para-
metric and semi-parametric analytical techniques, Bezabih and
Holden's (2010) found that landownership certification widened the
gender gap in agricultural productivity in rural Ethiopia. Jacoby and
Minten (2007) examined the cost-effectiveness of land titling in Mada-
gascar. Based on their findings, they concluded that “having a title has
no significant effect on investment and correspondingly little on land
productivity and values” (Jacoby and Minten, 2007: 461). While not fo-
cusing on gender inequality, this finding provides ammunition for
questioning the commonly-held belief that land tenure formalization
 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
invariably leads to economic development. On their part, Bezu and
Holden (2014) analyzed panel data on 600 households to understand
the ‘demand for land certification in Ethiopia.’ On the one hand, the au-
thors noted the positive implications of land registration and certifica-
tion for investments, land productivity, and land rental market
activities. On the other hand, they observed that the high cost of land ti-
tling “has made land titles costlier and only available to the wealthy,”
which we must add, exclude women (Ibid, 194). The study also revealed
significant differences in men's and women's perception of land titling
and certification (Ibid, 199). More women (25%) than men (15%)
were ‘indifferent’ with respect to land titling and certification. Similarly,
more women (41%) than men (38%) considered it ‘bad’ or ‘unnecessary.’
More importantly, the study found that the ‘willingness-to-pay’ (WTP)
for a land title was 6.7% lower for women than men. Although the au-
thors did not mention this, it is conceivable that the WTP is a function
of ‘ability-to-pay.’
The paucity of works specifically interrogating the link between gen-
der inequality in access to land and macroeconomic factors dictates a
broadening of our scope. Doing so permits us to focus on the broader
body of scholarship concerned with the link between inequality and
economic growth. Most of the studies on this subject are interested in
how gender inequality affects economic growth (Kabeer & Natali,
2013). However, interest in the reverse of this relation is beginning to
gather momentum. We begin this segment by briefly reviewing works
of the former genre. The conventional mathematical formula employed
by such works, which are often of a cross-country nature, assumes the
following simple linear form (Cingano, 2014: 14):
ln yi– ln yi–1 ¼ a ln yi; t−1 þ Xi; t−1β þ y ln eqi; t−1 þ μ i þ εi ; t
where, i is a specific country; (t, t − 1) = a time interval of 5 years; Lny
is the natural log of GDP, and approximates the country's economic
growth in 5-year intervals; Ineq is a summary measure of inequality
(this is usually the Gini index); yt − 1 is per capita GDP, typically the
standard control for convergence; X is the vector containing a minimum
set of controls for human and physical capital; μi and μt permit account-
ing for country (and time) fixed effects when using panel data; and εi, is
the error term.
Scholarship on the subject falls into two main groups (Seguino &
Were, 2013). The one, comprising mainstream neoclassical economists,
focuses on the long-run effects of inequality. The other, which includes
structuralists and feminists, concentrates on both short and long run
effects and their implications for inequality in livelihoods. The
operationalization schema for livelihoods employed by this latter cate-
gory is noteworthy for the purpose of the present study. Livelihood is
defined to include access to employment, gender-based biased wage
differentials and asset inequality. Using mainly non-parametric tech-
niques, analysts have shown that the growth rate assumes a U-shape
as a function of net changes in inequality (see e.g. Banerjee & Duflo,
2003). It is more commonly known as the Kuznets' curve, after its in-
ventor, the German economist, Simon Kuznets. It reflects the link be-
tween income inequality and economic growth. Kuznets hypothesized
that as an economy grows, market forces tend to cause economic in-
equality to initially increase and then, shrink. This hypothesis has guid-
ed many cross-country studies on the link between income inequality
and development over the years (see e.g., Deninger & Squire, 1996;
Bourguignon & Morrisson, 1990; Boserup, 1970). Within the framework
of the Kuznets hypothesis, inequality is expected to be low in poor coun-
tries, higher for middle-incomes ones, and then low again for high-in-
come countries.
The model's tenability has since been challenged (see e.g., Deninger
& Squire, 1996; Fields, 2001). Critics of the Kuznets model have invoked
the case of the Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia (the East Asia Miracle)
to bolster their position. The growth in manufacturing and export that
these countries experienced between 1965 and 1990 did not initially
lead to high levels of inequality. Rather, it resulted in corresponding
5
improvements in life expectancy and significant decreases in poverty
levels. The improvements were significant and permanent, and there-
fore contradicted the Kuznets hypothesis.
Empirical studies on the effect of inequality on macroeconomic
variables suggest that increases in levels of inequality bode ill for eco-
nomic growth. Udry's (1996) study, which found that gender inequal-
ities in access to productive resources negatively impacted agricultural
productivity and growth, is illustrative. Echoing Udry's findings is the
study of economic growth trends in sub-Saharan Africa's agriculture
sector by Blackden and Bhanu (1999). Results of the study suggested
that gender inequalities significantly reduced growth in agricultural
productivity.
Also of interest is the panel study of 120 developing countries over
the quarter-century period (1975–2000) by Baldacci, Clements, Gupta,
and Cui (2004). Their aim was to identify the determinants of per capita
income growth, total investment, educational attainment and health
status. Employing a set of simultaneous equations, they found a statisti-
cally significant positive relation between gender equality and educa-
tion capital. They operationalized gender equality, an independent
variable, in terms of the proportion of female students enrolled in pri-
mary and secondary schools. They also found the same variable to be
negatively linked to infant mortality. In other words, gains in female ed-
ucation significantly reduced infant mortality levels. Conversely, gender
inequalities in education have been incriminated as having a negative
impact on economic growth (see e.g., Klasen, 1999). To appreciate this
requires simply understanding the meaning of gender inequality in ed-
ucation. In practice, this means affording less qualified males the educa-
tional opportunities of better qualified females.
ð1Þ A common thread runs through the afore-cited works. It is the spec-
ification of indicators of inequality as predictor or independent variables
(IVs) with economic growth as the dependent variable (DV). Works de-
viating from this tradition are only of recent vintage but rapidly grow-
ing. Such works, of which the present one constitutes a part, specify
gender inequality or a cognate variable, as a function of macroeconomic
factors. In doing so, the works effectively reverse the conventional di-
rection of causality (see Eq. 1 above) by using macroeconomic variables
to explain gender inequality.
Examples of works in this latter family include Forsythe,
Korzeniewicz, and Durrant (2004) (hereafter, FKD), and Morrisson
and Jutting (2005). KFD specified ‘status of women’ and ‘gender in-
equality’ respectively as dependent variables. They employed cross-
country and longitudinal data to explore the implications of economic
growth on each of these variables. Their results suggest no statistically
significant relationship between level of economic development and
gender inequality in Muslim countries. However, they uncovered a cur-
vilinear relation between economic development and gender inequali-
ty. This relation differed based on the type of country. For instance,
countries with the highest levels of inequality experienced the greatest
decline in inequality. These findings are consistent with neoclassical
theories that posit economic development as a viable tool for improving
the status of women.
The model employed by KFD assumes the following conventional re-
gression form (p. 585):
Y i ¼ β0 þ β1 ðGDPPC Þ ð2Þ
where, Yi is the dependent variable of concern (either women's status
or gender inequality); and GDPC is an indicator of economic develop-
ment measured by natural logarithm of the GDPC indicator (the natural
log was taken to maintain proportional differences in the distribution).
The authors used a second model of the following quadratic form to em-
pirically assess the likelihood of curvilinearity (as in the Kuznets
model):
Y i ¼ β0 þ β1 ðGDPPC Þ þ β2 ðGDPPC Þ2 ð3Þ
6 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
On their part, Morrisson and Jutting (2005) developed an alternative
definition of the notion of gender inequality. Their definition considers
social institutions, access to resources, and level of development as hav-
ing a significant effect on the economic role of women. They found
lower levels of inequality in Southeast Asia and Latin America, approxi-
mating what obtains in developed countries. This was in contrast to the
rest of the developing world where significant inequalities prevail.
Gender-based inequalities in access to resources were particularly pro-
nounced in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Middle
East and North Africa.
Based on Kuznets' hypothesis, one would expect lower levels of in-
equalities in poor countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. Howev-
er, this is not the case, and particularly so with respect to gender
inequality. In fact, the Human Development Report of 2012 noted that
seven of the ten most ‘gender unequal countries’ in the world are locat-
ed in this region. High levels of inequalities are expected in the land do-
main, the focus of the study under discussion for at least one reason. The
distribution of land, particularly in poor countries is never as egalitarian
as poverty. Evidence on this can be found in data on land titles issued in
Cameroon during the ten-year period following passage of the country's
landmark land law. Table 1 contains a sample of these data. The data are
for the five administrative divisions that comprised the country's North-
West Region (1976–1985). Note the insignificant proportion of the ti-
tles issued to women, which ranged from only 2.1% (for Menchum Divi-
sion) to 4.5% (for Momo Division).
Main research questions and hypotheses
The foregoing narrative leads us to pose the following as the central
questions of this study.
1. Do macroeconomic factors have any effect on gender inequality in
access to land in Cameroon?
2. What is the nature of the relationship between gender inequality in
access to land and economic growth?
3. How strong is the relationship between women's access to land and
economic growth?
4. What is the relative strength of association of different indicators of
economic growth and gender inequality in access to land?
From a neoclassical economic perspective, gender inequality in ac-
cess to land results from differences in the financial and other resources
of men and women (cf., Kabeer & Natali, 2013; Forsythe et al., 2004;
Banerjee & Duflo, 2003; Boserup, 1970). These differences, we believe,
are likely to decline with gains in the overall economy. Based on this,
we expect macroeconomic factors to:
H1. Have an impact on gender inequality in access to land.
H2. Be inversely related to gender inequality in access to land.
H3. Be strongly associated with gender inequality in access to land.
Data and methodology
Data and data sources
The data used to address these questions were restricted to the nine-
year period from 2005 to 2013. A nine-year period was deemed suffi-
cient to gauge the impact of macroeconomic variables on gender in-
equality. Cross-country studies of the genre afore-cited typically focus
on five-year intervals. The present study covers a duration of about
twice that. To contextualize the period of interest here, it is worth not-
ing that the data on land title registration in Cameroon are collected
on a monthly basis. Therefore, the data on land title registration
employed here cover a period of 108 months. Table 3 shows the data
on land titles issued in Cameroon to men, women and groups or institu-
tions such as religious organizations for the study period. Data for the
study originated from different sources, the following of which consti-
tuted the main ones:
• Cameroon Statistical Yearbook (see INSC, 2013);
• African Statistical Yearbook 2014 (see ASY, 2014); and
• UN-Statistics (from the United Nations Statistics Division).
The Cameroon Statistical Yearbook is an annual publication de-
signed to disseminate up-to-date information on economic and social
development conditions in Cameroon. Available in soft and hard
copy, the document is published by Cameroon's National Institute of
Statistics (Institut National de la Statistique du Cameroun). The docu-
ment constitutes the main source of the data on land title registration
used in the study reported here. The African Statistical Yearbook is a
product of the African Statistical Coordination Commission (ASCC). It
is produced annually, and contains detailed information on social
demographic, economic, monetary/financial, and infrastructure devel-
opment in Africa. It constituted the principal source of the macroeco-
nomic data, particularly per capita GDP and per capita national
income, employed in the study. Data for the GDP shares by sector
were drawn from the UN Statistics Division's “National Accounts
Main Aggregates Database.” The database, which is an online source,
provides a series of analytical national accounts tables on more than
200 countries and regions of the world. It provides data from 1970
to present. The original sources of the data presented in this database
include the Economic Statistics Branch of the United Nations Statistics
Division, international statistical agencies and national statistical ser-
vices of the countries reported on. The database is up-to-date as it is
updated every December.
Variables
The study investigated ten variables, of which one served as the de-
pendent variable while the rest were independent variables. The vari-
ables and their operationalization schemes appear in Table 2. Three of
the variables, including gender inequality (in land title acquisition),
per capita gross domestic product (PCGDP), and per capita gross nation-
al income (PCGNI), were employed in a multiple regression or ordinary
least squares (OLS) model. The main independent variables (IVs), per
capita GDP and per capita national income, are well-established indica-
tors of macroeconomic performance. A word on the computation of
values for the DV, gender inequality is in order. The value, that is gender
gap in access to land for any given year was computed as follows:
GENINEQ ¼ PLm −PLw ð4Þ
where,
PLm = % of land titles issued to men; and
PLw = % of land titles issued to women.
Within the framework of this formula, equality is said to exist when
GENINEQ is zero. This means an even split of the land titles (50% each)
between women and men.
Model specification
Our aim is to link an observable dependent variable, Y to observable
predictor or independent variables (IVs), X1, X2 …, Xk and an unobserv-
able variable ε (the error term) and parameters β1, …, βk. Beginning
with a linear formula and extending it to capture situations of nonline-
arity, we obtain the following familiar linear regression equation:
Y 1 ¼ β1 X t1 þ β2 X t2 þ …βk Xtk þ εt ð5Þ
 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10 7

Table 2
Variable definition, measurement and data source.

Variable Type Definition Measurement Data source

label

GENINEQ DV Proportion of land titles issued to women. Computed for any given year as follows: total 100 MINUS % of land titles issued to women for INSC (2013)
titles issued to men and women minus total titles issued to men divided by total titles any given period. This is expressed in percentage.
issued to men and women multiple by 100.
PCGDP IV Total output of the country or the gross domestic product (GDP) divided by the country's Expressed in $US. ASY (2014)
total population.
PCGNI IV This was taken as the mean income of everyone in Cameroon. Computation entails Expressed in $US. UN-Stats
dividing the gross national income by the total population. (Online)
(n.d.).
TRANSP IV Share of the GDP attributed to transportation Expressed in %. UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).
AGRIC IV Share of GDP resulting from agriculture. Expressed in %. UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).
INDUSTRa IV Share of GDP attributed to industrial activities. Expressed in %. UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).
MANUFA IV Share of GDP from manufacturing. Expressed in % UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).
CONSTR IV Share of GDP from construction. Expressed in % UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).
TRADE IV Share of GDP from construction. Expressed in %. UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).
OTHERb IV Share of GDP from the service sector. Expressed in %. UN-Stats
(Online)
(n.d.).

Source: the authors.

a
Appears in data source as ‘mining, manufacturing and utilities.’ This is an aggregation of economic activities such as mining and quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply.
b
‘Other’ includes economic activities in financial intermediation, real estate, public administration, defense, education, health, and undifferentiated production activities.

When we differentiate Eq. (5) partially with respect to Xt1, we obtain where, lnGENINEQ is the natural log of Gender inequality, the DV;
the following: lnPCGDP is the natural log of the per capita GNP; lnPCGNI is the natural
log of the per capita gross national income per capita; and εi is the error
∂Yt term.
¼ βi ð6Þ
∂X ti Note that Eq. (6) assumes the same form as the model developed by
Forsythe et al. (2004) in Eq. (2).
Thus, we interpret the regression coefficient βi to mean that, if the
values of all the other parameters in the equation were kept constant,
Zero-order correlations
an increase by one unit in Xti will result in an increase or decrease in Yi
by βi units (depending on whether βi is positive or negative). Thus, if
We developed 7 correlation models with GENINEQ as the DV. The IVs
βi is negative Yt will decrease by − βi units. We are assuming that
include the share (in percentage) contributed to the GNP by the follow-
each X is given and that it is nonrandom so that Cov(Xti, εt) = 0 for
ing economic sectors: Transportation, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Con-
each i from 1 to k and each t from 1 to T. Therefore, we further assume
struction, Trade, Industry, and ‘other’ related activities. Our aim was to
that there is no relation between any of the predictor or independent
determine the effect of each of these sectors on gender inequality in ac-
variables (IVs) and the error term (ε).
cess to land.
For the 2 IVs and 1 DV in our study we specify a model of the com-
mon genre for a multiple regression analysis to assume the following
form: Main findings

Y 1 ¼ β1 ðPCGDPÞ þ β2 ðPCGNI Þ þ εi
Taking the natural log of both sides to maintain proportional differ-
ences in the distribution, we have the following:
ln GENINEQ ¼ β1 ð lnPCGDP Þ þ β2 ð ln PCGNIÞ þ εi
ð7Þ Table 4 contains descriptive statistics on the variables examined in
the study. As the table shows, the gender inequality gap in access to
land ranged from a minimum of 55% (55.242%) to a maximum of
about 66% (65.714%) and a mean of about 62% (61.561%) for the nine-
year period examined. In other words, the proportion of land titles is-
ð8Þ sued to women was on average, 62% less that the share that went to

Table 3
Land ownership by sex/type in Cameroon, 2005–2013.

Type or sex of owner 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total

Male 4200 8378 9543 8276 10,504 10,931 3510 8854 8398 72,594
Female 869 1787 2001 1999 2355 2790 1012 2083 2309 17,205
Group 58 117 100 103 225 246 222 149 1226 2446
Total 5127 10,282 11,644 10,378 13,084 13,367 4744 11,076 11,933 92,245

Source: INSC (Online). Institute National des Statistiques du Cameroun.

8 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10

Table 4 Table 6
Descriptive statistics for variables in the study. Zero-order correlation coefficient with gender in-
equality as the dependent variable.
Variable Minimum Maximum Mean Std. dev.
Independent variable Coefficient
GENDINEQ 55.242 65.714 61.561 3.777
GNICAP 880.4 1274.6 1101.556 123.1095 TRANSP 0.635⁎
GDPCAP 913 1311 1311 131.099 AGRIC 0.557
TRANS 0.06 0.07 0.0667 0.00500 MANUFAC −0.557⁎
AGRIC 0.2 0.2 0.224 0.0113 CONSTR 0.646⁎
INDUSTR 0.23 0.30 0.2567 0.02398 TRADE −.726⁎⁎
MANUFAC 0.14 0.19 0.1589 0.01616 INDUSTR −.744⁎⁎
CONSTR 0.03 0.06 0.0433 0.01323 OTHER 0.680⁎⁎
TRADE 0.20 0.23 0.2133 0.01225
⁎⁎ Significant at α ≤ 0.05.
OTHER 0.18 0.07 0.0667 0.00866
⁎ Significant at α ≤ 0.10.

men. The standard deviation associated with the gender inequality var-
iable was only about 4 (3.777). This suggests that not much year-to-
year variation occurred with respect to the gender inequality gap. The
per capita gross national income (PCGNI) ranged from $US880.4 to
about $US1275 for the same period. On its part, the per capita gross do-
mestic product (PCGNP) ranged from $US913 to $US1311 with a stan-
dard deviation of $US131. The table also shows that not much year-
to-year variation characterized the share to the country's GDP originat-
ing in different sectors of the economy during the study period. Note
that the sectors considered included transportation, agriculture,
manufacturing, industry, construction, trade, and ‘other’ activities (see
definition of this latter under Table 2).
Table 5 summarizes the regression model incorporating gender in-
equality in access to land as a function of two main macroeconomic var-
iables, namely per capita GDP and per capita GNI. The mathematical
equation linking these variables is as follows:
LnGENDINEQ ¼ 6:711 þ 1:143LnPCGNI−:1:507LnPCGDP þ ε
ðtÞ : ð9:689Þ ð2:160Þ ð−2:929Þ
2  
R ðAdj:Þ ¼ :727; sig:αb ¼ 0:05; sig:αb ¼ 0:1; F ¼ 11:643; sig:αb ¼ 0:01:
This equation contains answers to the first three main questions of
the study. According to this model, macroeconomic factors do indeed
have a link to gender inequality. The model also validates H1, H2, and
H3. It shows that there is a strong link between the DV, gender inequal-
ity and both predictor variables, per capita GDP and per capita GNI. The
model's strength is attested to by the F-value of 11.643, which is statis-
tically significant at better than the 0.01 level.
The strength of association is validated by the adjusted R-square
value of 73% (0.727). This suggests that per capita GNI and per capita
GDP account for about 73% of the variability in women's relative access
to land in Cameroon. The negative sign associated with the coefficient of
per capita GDP is in concert with our hypothesis (see H2). Thus, as hy-
pothesized, a rise in per capita GDP results in a decline in levels of in-
equality in access to land. In other words, the gap between men's and
women's access to land tends to narrow with gains in per capita GDP.
However, the positive sign associated with the coefficient of per capita
GNI is in contrast to the hypothesized relationship (H2). We hypothe-
sized an inverse relation, which is contrary to the positive association
Table 5
Regression model of gender inequality in land ownership as a function of macroeconomic
factors.
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
coefficients coefficients
B Std. err. Beta
(Constant) 5.379 0.261 20.600
LNGNICAP 0.419 0.200 2.079 2.101
LNGDPCAP −0.558 0.194 −2.845 −2.874
DV = LNGENDINEQ; F = 11.617 (significant at α ≤ 0.01).
uncovered by the analysis. Thus, a rise in per capita GNI results in an in-
crease in levels of inequality in access to land between men and women.
Table 5 contains answers to our fourth and final main research ques-
tion. It is a tabulation of the zero-order correlation coefficients for the
different sectors of the economy examined in the study. Trade, with a
coefficient of association of 0.726 emerges as the sector with the stron-
gest link to gender inequality in access to land. This association is statis-
tically significant at the 0.01 level or better. We further note that the
sign associated with this variable is negative. This suggests that as the
shares originating in trade to GDP increases, inequality in access to
land decreases (Table 6).
In other words, women gain ground on men with respect to access
to land. The weakest links (0.557 and − 0.557) are with agriculture
and manufacturing respectively. However, only the link with
manufacturing is statistically significant at the 0.1 level or better. This
link is also negative, which aligns with the relevant hypothesis. Thus,
improvements in manufacturing result in a decrease in the gender gap
prevalent in access to land.
Discussion, recommendation and conclusion
ð9Þ
The afore-presented revelations are easily explicable and quite tell-
ing. The negative link uncovered between gender inequality and per
capita GDP suggests that economic growth is capable of addressing
some dimensions of gender inequality. The findings further suggest
that gains in each sector of the economy contribute to lowering the gen-
der gap prevalent in access to land. However, we cannot ignore the fact
that, contrary to our hypothesis, this gap widens as per capita gross na-
tional income (PCGNI) increases.
To appreciate these revelations, it is necessary to understand the
similarity and distinction between per capita GDP and per capita GNI.
Both are indicators of macroeconomic growth. However, while per
capita GDP focuses exclusively on activities within a country (domestic
production), per capita GNI includes the country's foreign earnings. It is
conceivable that gains in domestic production are likely to increase the
buying power of women. With this, women's ability-to-pay for land is
significantly improved. This invariably results in a narrowing of the in-
equality gap in access to land. The GDP per capita, a measure of the av-
erage economic productivity of people reflects wellbeing, including
financial well-being within a country. Thus, improvements in this re-
gard translates into people affording previously unaffordable goods.
For women, this may mean affording land, a previously unaffordable
commodity. This may result in, among other things, narrowing the
gap between men's and women's access to land.
However, the uncovered direct link between per capita GNI and gen-
der inequality suggests that economic growth does not necessarily re-
sult in closing this gap. This finding has an important policy
implication. It points to the need for redistributive measures to ensure
0.000 the narrowing of gender-based differentials in access to land and
0.080 other resources. Here, it is necessary to note that per capita GNI takes
0.028 into account a country's income from both domestic and foreign
sources. However, as an average value, the GNI per capita conceals
 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
real differences characteristic of income distribution especially in a de-
veloping economy such as Cameroon's. Thus, earnings that may accrue
exclusively to a few privileged members of a society are reflected as in-
come to everyone. Recall that the GNI per capita for any country is that
country's GNI divided by its entire population. More importantly the
computation of GNI per capita includes government transfer payments
such as income. In reality, such payments can significantly increase, as
they often do, for a few without ever reaching the majority underprivi-
leged members of society, especially women.
Four decades ago, Dudley Seers (1969) had acknowledged the likeli-
hood of such a problem. He admonished policy makers and analysts to es-
chew the use of macroeconomic indicators, particularly the GNI, as
measures of development. Seers was especially concerned with the fact
that such indicators tend to ignore important dimensions of development
such as income distribution and poverty alleviation. For Seers (1969: 5),
The questions to ask about a country's development are therefore:
What has been happening to poverty? What has been happening
to unemployment? What has been happening to inequality?
To conclude that development has indeed occurred in any economy,
it must have registered significant declines in all three of these areas. As
noted earlier, women are disproportionately disfavored in developing
economies. Therefore, in such economies, significant decreases in levels
of unemployment invariably favor women. Consistent with the thrust of
our argument, improvements in women's employment situation invari-
ably boost their ability-to-pay for land inter alia.
Apart from validating our hypotheses, the revelations align neatly
with those of previous efforts. These revelations therefore serve to ame-
liorate knowledge of the impact of macroeconomic factors on gender in-
equality. Such knowledge is important not only for theoretical but also
policy purposes. Kabeer and Natali (2013) drew attention to the fact
that studies positing gender inequality as a function of economic growth
are in their infancy. Thus, if nothing else, our findings contribute to ef-
forts designed to promote understanding of this largely ignored per-
spective on determinants of gender inequality. Also, it is worth noting
that previous studies on this subject have been at the cross-country
level. Thus, they are saddled with problems such as reverse causality
and multi-collinearity often associated with highly aggregated analyses.
Our study avoided such problems by focusing on a single country. The
main findings suggest that, ceteris paribus, gains in per capita GDP in-
variably result in closing the gender gap in access to land. We would
be remiss if we concluded this discussion without proffering some albeit
cautiously prescriptive steps for authorities to take in order to actively
promote women's ownership of land in Cameroon and other African
countries. First, they would do well to enact policies and implement
programs designed to significantly improve women's participation in
the formal labor sector. Second, they are well-advised to outlaw cultural
norms that refuse girls and women the same rights extended to boys
and men in matters of inheritance. This is by no means a tall order as
such legislation can be easily subsumed under the country's efforts to
honour its international commitments, obligations, and agreements in
this connection. An example of this is the UN Convention on the Elimi-
nation of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Here,
we hasten to note that, Cameroon is party to this and other international
treaties and conventions requiring statutory compliance with anti-dis-
crimination standards. However, any measure to ensure gender equity
in property inheritance must perforce address concerns with the possi-
ble uni-directional inter-family transfer of resources that may occur
through marriage. Finally, more emphasis must be placed on educating
the population through mass media and in schools on the ills of all forms
of gender-based discrimination.
References
ASY (2014). African Statistical Yearbook. Tunis/Addis Ababa: African Development Bank;
African Union; Economic Commission for Africa.
9
Baldacci, E., Clements, B., Gupta, S., & Cui, Q. (2004). Social spending, human capital, and
growth in developing countries: Implications for achieving the MDGs. International
Monetary Fund working paper 04/217. Washington: International Monetary Fund.
Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2003). Inequality and growth: What can the data say? Retrieved
on April 13, 2015 from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=
s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Feconomics.mit.edu%
2Ffiles%2F753&ei=ZAssVYf3Kda1sQTg3oDAAg&usg=AFQjCNHUCnSrEBWmVaHOn
HEwRJgThihhTA&bvm=bv.90491159,d.b2w&cad=rja.
Bezabih, M., & Holden, S. (2010). The role of land certification in reducing gender gaps in
productivity in rural Ethiopia. Environment for development discussion paper series, EfD
DP 10-23. EfD/Resources for the Future.
Bezu, S., & Holden, S. (2014). Demand for second-stage land certification in Ethiopia: Ev-
idence from household panel data. Land Use Policy, 41, 193–205.
Bigombe, P. L., & Bikie, E. -H. (2003). Women and land in Cameroon, questioning women's
land status and claiming for change. In L. Wanyeki (Ed.), Women and land in Africa:
Culture, religion and realising women's rights (pp. 32–66). London: Zed Books.
Blackden, C. M., & Bhanu, C. (1999). Gender, Growth, and Poverty Reduction, Special Pro-
gram of Assistance for Africa 1998 Status Report on Poverty. Washington D.C.: World
Bank Technical Paper No. 428.
Boserup, E. (1970). Women's role in economic development. New York: St. Martin's.
Bourguignon, F., & Morrisson, C. (1990). Income distribution, development and foreign
trade: A cross-sectional analysis. European Economic Review, 34, 1113–1132.
Chu, J. (2011). Gender and ‘land grabbing’ in sub-Saharan Africa: Women's land rights
and customary land tenure. Development, 54(1), 35–39.
Cingano, F. (2014). Trends in income inequality and its impact on economic growth. OECD
social, employment and migration working papers, no. 163. OECD Publishinghttp://dx.
doi.org/10.1787/5jxrjncwxv6j-en.
Dale, P. (1997). Land tenure issues in economic development. Urban Studies, 34(10),
1621–1633.
De Soto, H. (2000). The mystery of capital: Why capitalism triumphs in the West but fails ev-
erywhere else. New York: Basic Books.
Deninger, K., & Squire, L. (1996). Measuring income inequality: A new database. The
World Bank economic review. 10(3). (pp. 565–591).
Fisiy, C. F. (1992). Power and privilege in the administration of law: Land law reforms and
social differentiation in Cameroon. Leiden, The Netherlands: African Studies Centre.
Fombe, L. F., Sama-Lang, I. F., Fonjong, L., & Mbah-Fongkimeh, A. (2013). Securing tenure
for sustainable livelihoods: A case of women land ownership in Anglophone Camer-
oon. Éthique et économique/Ethics and Economics, 10(2), 72–86 Accessed, March 31,
2015 at http://ethique-economique.net/.
Fonjong, L. (2010). Customary law and its implications for women's rights and access to
land in Africa: The case of Anglophone Cameroon. Paper presented at IDRC symposium
on gendered terrain: Women's rights and access to land in Africa (14-16 September.
Nairobi).
Fonjong, L., et al. (2013). Land tenure practices and women's rights to land in Anglophone
Cameroon: Implications for sustainable development. Research report. Canada: IDRC.
Forsythe, N., Korzeniewicz, R. P., & Durrant, V. (2004). Gender inequalities and economic
growth: A longitudinal evaluation. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 48(3),
573–617.
INSC (2013). Annuaire Statistique du Cameroun en 2013. Institut National de la Statistique
du Cameroun, Yaounde Available in pdf online http://www.statistics-cameroon.org/
news.php?id=260 Accessed on February 23, 2015.
Jacoby, H. G., & Minten, B. (2007). Is land titling in sub-Saharan Africa cost-effective? Ev-
idence from Madagascar. The World Bank economic review. 21(3). (pp. 461–485).
Jagero, N., & Onego, R. (2011). Factors influencing women access to and control of land in
Kenya. African Journal of Social Sciences, 1(2), 20–35.
Kabeer, N., & Natali, L. (2013). Gender equality and economic growth: Is there a win-win?
IDS Working Paper No. 417. Institute of Development Studies.
Kimani, M. (2008). Women struggle to secure land rights: Hard fight for access and deci-
sion-making power. Africa Renewal, 22(1), 10–13.
Klasen, S. (1999). Does gender inequality reduce growth and development? Policy Research
Report Working Paper 7. Washington, DC.: World Bank.
Meek, C. K. (1957). Land tenure and land administration in Nigeria and the Cameroons. Lon-
don: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Morrisson, C., & Jutting, J. P. (2005). Women's discrimination in developing countries: A
new data set for better policies. World Development, 33(7), 1065–1081.
Nadasen, N. (2012). Rural women's access to land in sub-Saharan Africa and implications
for meeting the Millennium Development Goals Agenda. Empowering Women for
Gender Equity, 26(1), 41–53.
Njoh, A. J. (1996). The political economy of urban land reforms in a post-colonial state.
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 22(3), 408–424.
Njoh, A. J. (2003). Planning in Contemporary Africa: The State, urban planning and society in
Cameroon. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Njoh, A. J. (2006). Tradition, culture and development in Africa: Historical lessons for modern
development planning. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
Njoh, A. J. (2007). Tradition, culture and development in Africa: Historical lessons for modern
development planning. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
Njoh, A. J. (2012). Equity, fairness and justice implications of land tenure formalization in
Cameroon. International Journal of Urban & Regional Research, 37(2), 750–768.
Njoh, A. J., & Akiwumi, F. A. (2012). The impact of religion on women empowerment as a
millennium development goal in Africa. Social Indicators Research, 107, 1–18.
Okeyo, A. P. (1980). Daughters of the Lakes and Rivers: Colonization and the Land Rights
of Luo Women. In E. Etienne, & M. Leacock (Eds.), Women and Colonization
(pp. 186–213). New York, NY: Praeger.
Rabenhorst, C. S. (2011). Gender and property rights: A critical issue in urban economic
development. A report prepared for the International Housing Coalition and the Urban
Institute, Washington, DC (Prepared with the assistance of Anjali Bean).
10 A.J. Njoh et al. / Women's Studies International Forum 63 (2017) 1–10
Razavi, S. (2003). Introduction: Agrarian change, gender and land rights. Journal of
Agrarian Change, 3(1&2), 32.
Richardson, A. M. (2004). Women's inheritance rights in Africa: The need to integrate cul-
tural understanding and legal reform. Human Rights Brief, 11(2), 19–22 Also available
online. Accessed on May 21, 2017 at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/
hrbrief/vol11/iss2/6.
Rugege, D., Bob, U., Moodley, V., Mtshali, S., Mutunga, O., & Mthembu, A. (2007). A liter-
ature review for the baseline survey on communal land rights in KwaZulu-Natal.
Community Land Rights Act (CLARA) baseline study. KwaZulu-Natal: Department of
Land Affairs.
Seers, D. (1969). The meaning of development. Communication Series No. 44Institute of De-
velopment Studies Retrieved on April 19, 2015 from: https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/
dmfile/themeaningofdevelopment.pdf.
Seguino, S., & Were, M. (2013). Gender, development, and economic growth in sub-Saha-
ran Africa. Plenary paper prepared for presentation at the African Economic Research
Consortium (AERC) Biannual Research Workshop, December 2–5, 2012, Arusha,
Tanzania.
Strickland, R. S. (2004). To have and to hold: Women's property and inheritance rights in
the context of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Working paper (June 2004). The Global
Coalition on Women and AIDS.
Udry, C. (1996). Gender, agricultural production, and the theory of the household. Journal
of Political Economy, 104(5), 1010–1046.
UN Human Rights (2013). Realizing women's rights to land and other productive resources.
New York/Geneva: UN Human Rights & UN Women.
UNECA (2010). Women's access to and ownership of land: Perspectives on law and prac-
tice in Africa. African women's rights newsletter. Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA) June, Issue #3. Available online at http://www1.uneca.org/portals/awro/
Publications/22AWRO%20Newsletter%203.pdf Retrieved, March 30, 2015.
UN-Stats (Online). National accounts main aggregate data base. United Nations Statistics
Division. Retrieved on April 16, 2015 from: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/
Introduction.asp