The expansion of married women's property rights was a main achievement of the first wave of feminism in Latin America. As Carmen Diana Deeere and Magdalena Leon reveal, however, the disjuncture between rights and actual ownership remains vast. This is particularly true in rural areas, where the distribution of land between men and women is highly unequal. In their pioneering, twelve-country comparative study, the authors argue that property ownership is directly related to womenÆs bargaining power within the household and community, point out changes resulting from recent gender-progressive legislation, and identify additional areas for future reform, including inheritance rights of wives.

Wildlands and economic development. The need for systematic attention to wildlands. The World Bank and wildland management. Incorporating wildland management components in development projects. Other development activities that benefit wildland management. Wildland management in economic and sector planning. The economic analysis of wildland management. Accommodating the needs and interests of local people in wildland management.

This volume is divided into four main sections, these focus on: commodities and their social meanings; anthropological investigation of business systems and practices; the economic importance of productive land in culture and society; and a showcase of new research on the economic anthropology of Latin America.