Determinants of Women's Decision-Making Authority in Nigeria: The Ethnic Dimension

Using data from a 1991 survey of five ethnic groups in Nigeria, we look at the determinants of wife's decision-making authority. Our analysis shows that ethnicity plays a very important role in shaping wife's decision-making authority and is even more important than wife's individual-level characteristics as a determinant of authority. The ethnic effect occurs both by shaping the levels of resources that women achieve and by shaping the relationships of wife's achieved characteristics to family decision-making. To the extent that characteristics other than ethnicity make a difference for authority, we find that wife's contributions to household expenditures are important. That factor significantly increases wife's authority, as does wife's formal education, age, and work for pay outside the home. The findings underscore the importance of looking at ethnic social differentiation in the African context and advancing educational and employment opportunities for women.