Are There Cultural Prerequisites to Effective Property Rights?: Evidence from Inheritance Rights of Widows in Colonial India

Abstract: We show that property rights can have negative consequences for its beneficiaries if affected elites control alternate institutions to counter property rights. Districts in colonial India which provided widows with rights to inherit joint-family property of their deceased husband had significantly higher widow burnings than districts which did not. Native elites (Brahmins) burnt disproportionately more widows and widow burnings were higher in regions with a higher density of native elites. Our interpretation is that egalitarianism requires egalitarians — elite patriarchal norms can mediate the effects of property rights and lead to negative consequences.