Women's Empowerment and Climate Adaptation: Does Joint Land Ownership Promote Food Security of Households Facing Extreme Weather Events in Tanzania?

Promoting gender equality, adapting to climate change, and ensuring food security are pressing global challenges. This study highlights the interlinkages among these issues, arguing that women's empowerment through joint land ownership enhances households’ food security amid increasing climate vulnerability. Specifically, we claim that joint land ownership strengthens women's bargaining power within households, leading to the adoption of climate-sensitive agricultural practices and improved households’ spending and saving behaviour. This, in turn, fosters the food and nutritional security of households facing extreme weather events. To test our hypothesis, we combine temperature and rainfall data with information on land ownership and food consumption from the Living Standards Measurement Study for Tanzanian households. Based on coarsened exact matching, propensity score matching, and a differences-in-differences approach, our findings demonstrate that joint land ownership reduces food rationing and improves diet diversity in regions affected by extreme weather events.