IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/aareaj/313568.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Drinking water and off-farm labour supply: between-gender and within-gender bias

Author

Listed:
  • Zhou, Li
  • Turvey, Calum G.

Abstract

In this paper, we use the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) panel data to analyse the impact of drinking water on off-farm labour supply. A two-stage least squares (2SLS) multivariate Tobit regression model with random effects was applied. We find that impacts of drinking water conditions on off-farm labour supply may be greater for women than men but depends on the specific family role or family structure. A strong within-gender effect exists in households. For example, daughters are not sensitive to water access nor water quality, but householder’s spouses are sensitive to water access, and daughters-in-law are sensitive to water quality. Our findings suggest that infrastructure development in improved access to safe water has contributed positively to reductions in traditional gender biases, evening the playing field between daughters, daughters-in-law, mothers and mothers-in-law. We also find that water the infrastructure program may actually encourage off-farm labour mobility, reducing the supply of agricultural labour and the share of household labour on the farm. Thus, a broader approach to water policy should also include public investment in achieving greater labour efficiency and productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Li & Turvey, Calum G., 2018. "Drinking water and off-farm labour supply: between-gender and within-gender bias," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 62(1), January.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:313568
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.313568
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/313568/files/ajar12239.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.313568?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huffman, Wallace E & Lange, Mark D, 1989. "Off-Farm Work Decisions of Husbands and Wives: Joint Decision Making," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(3), pages 471-480, August.
    2. Jalan, Jyotsna & Ravallion, Martin, 2003. "Does piped water reduce diarrhea for children in rural India?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 153-173, January.
    3. Asadullah, M. Niaz & Chaudhury, Nazmul, 2011. "Poisoning the mind: Arsenic contamination of drinking water wells and children's educational achievement in rural Bangladesh," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 873-888, October.
    4. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Schultz, T Paul, 1982. "Market Opportunities, Genetic Endowments, and Intrafamily Resource Distribution: Child Survival in Rural India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(4), pages 803-815, September.
    5. Mangyo, Eiji, 2008. "The effect of water accessibility on child health in China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1343-1356, September.
    6. Currie, Janet & Madrian, Brigitte C., 1999. "Health, health insurance and the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 50, pages 3309-3416, Elsevier.
    7. SHI, Xiaoping & Heerink, Nico & Qu, Futian, 2007. "Choices between different off-farm employment sub-categories: An empirical analysis for Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 438-455.
    8. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3309-3416 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Harris, Leila M., 2008. "Water Rich, Resource Poor: Intersections of Gender, Poverty, and Vulnerability in Newly Irrigated Areas of Southeastern Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2643-2662, December.
    10. Mishra, Ashok K. & Chang, Hung-Hao, 2012. "Can off farm employment affect the privatization of social safety net? The case of self-employed farm households," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 94-101.
    11. Ayal Kimhi, 2004. "Family Composition and Off-Farm Participation Decisions in Israeli Farm Households," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(2), pages 502-512.
    12. Zhang, Jing, 2012. "The impact of water quality on health: Evidence from the drinking water infrastructure program in rural China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 122-134.
    13. Jessoe, Katrina, 2013. "Improved source, improved quality? Demand for drinking water quality in rural India," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 460-475.
    14. A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), 2000. "Handbook of Health Economics," Handbook of Health Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1.
    15. Shishko, Robert & Rostker, Bernard, 1976. "The Economics of Multiple Job Holding," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(3), pages 298-308, June.
    16. de Brauw, Alan & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott & Zhang, Linxiu & Zhang, Yigang, 2002. "The Evolution of China's Rural Labor Markets During the Reforms," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 329-353, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Junpeng Li & Puneet Vatsa & Wanglin Ma, 2023. "Small Acts With Big Impacts: Does Garbage Classification Improve Subjective Well-Being in Rural China?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 1337-1363, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vanaja, S., 2018. "Access to Piped Water, Time Savings and Absenteeism in School: Evidence from India," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275954, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Xuhang Shen & Ziqi Wang & Shi Li, 2023. "Access to Piped Water and Off-Farm Work Participation: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Yasuharu SHIMAMURA & Hiroshi NISHINO & Hirofumi TSURUTA & Keitaro AOYAGI, 2017. "Effect of Groundwater Development Project on Diarrhea Incidence in Rural Zambia," GSICS Working Paper Series 31, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University.
    4. Jie Dong & Kuan Zhang & Xiguo Yin & Houjian Li & Mansoor Ahmed Koondhar, 2021. "Does piped water improve adolescent health? Empirical evidence from rural China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 1601-1628, August.
    5. Li, Li & Xiao, Yun, 2023. "Beyond boiling: The effect of in utero exposure to treated tap water on childhood health," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Patricia Augier & Marion Dovis & Charles Lai-Tong, 2016. "Better Access to Water, Better Children's Health: A Mirage?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 70-92, January.
    7. Luo, Yaping & Wu, Jianxian & Xu, Ying, 2022. "Can self-governance tackle the water commons? — Causal evidence of the effect of rural water pollution treatment on farmers' health in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    8. Zhang, Jing & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2016. "The long-run effects of treated water on education: The rural drinking water program in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 1-15.
    9. Xu, Lixin Colin & Zhang, Jing, 2014. "Water quality, brawn, and education: the rural drinking water program in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7054, The World Bank.
    10. Sedai, Ashish Kumar, 2021. "Who Benefits from Piped Water in the House? Empirical Evidence from a Gendered Analysis in India," ADBI Working Papers 1273, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    11. Wang, Xiaobing & Herzfeld, Thomas & Glauben, Thomas, 2007. "Labor allocation in transition: Evidence from Chinese rural households," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 287-308.
    12. Zeeshan & Geetilaxmi Mohapatra & Arun Kumar Giri, 2022. "How Farm Household Spends Their Non-farm Incomes in Rural India? Evidence from Longitudinal Data," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(4), pages 1967-1996, August.
    13. Keya Sengupta, 2016. "Water and health for sustainable development," African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1), pages 66-101.
    14. Charles Yaw Okyere, 2020. "Environmental quality, gender and health outcomes in Southern Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 7865-7886, December.
    15. Frempong, Raymond Boadi & Kitzmüller, Lucas & Stadelmann, David, 2021. "A micro-based approach to evaluate the effect of water supply on health in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    16. Gayatri Koolwal & Dominique van de Walle, 2013. "Access to Water, Women's Work, and Child Outcomes," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(2), pages 369-405.
    17. Lu, Na & Villa, Kira M., 2018. "The effect of farming on rural household’s health: A natural experiment in China," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274441, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Mishra, Ashok K. & Nehring, Richard F. & Hendricks, Chad & Southern, Malaya & Gregory, Alexandra, 2007. "Off-Farm Income, Technology Adoption, And Farm Economic Performance," Economic Research Report 7234, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. Ashok K. Mishra & Kh. A. Mottaleb & Samarendu Mohanty, 2015. "Impact of off-farm income on food expenditures in rural Bangladesh: an unconditional quantile regression approach," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(2), pages 139-148, March.
    20. Benjamin, Catherine & Kimhi, Ayal, 2003. "Farm Work, Off-Farm Work, And Hired Farm Labor: Estimating A Discrete-Choice Model Of French Farm Couples' Labor Decisions," Discussion Papers 14990, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Agricultural Economics and Management.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor and Human Capital;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:313568. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaresea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.