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Fertility, Agricultural Labor Supply, and Production: Instrumental Variable Evidence from Uganda

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  • Van Campenhout, Bjorn

Abstract

Human fertility can affect agricultural production through its effect on supply of agricultural labor. Using the fact that in traditional, patriarchal societies, sons are generally preferred to daughters, we isolate exogenous variation in the number of children born to a mother and relate it to the agricultural labor supply and production in Uganda, which has a dominant agricultural sector and high fertility. We find that fertility has a sizable negative effect on household labor allocation to subsistence agriculture. Households with lower fertility devote significantly more time to land preparation and weeding; larger households grow less matooke and sweet potatoes. We find no significant effect on agricultural productivity in terms of yield per land area.

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  • Van Campenhout, Bjorn, 2016. "Fertility, Agricultural Labor Supply, and Production: Instrumental Variable Evidence from Uganda," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(3), pages 581-607, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:agrerw:v:45:y:2016:i:03:p:581-607_00
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    Cited by:

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    3. Twongyirwe, Ronald & Bariyo, Rogers & Odongo, Hannington & Muchunguzi, Charles & Kemigisha, Prudence & Nyakato, Viola, 2020. "Good intentions, bad extension systems? How the ‘Garden Store Approach’ crippled tea expansion in Kigezi sub-region, SW Uganda," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Bjorn van Campenhout & Haruna Sekabira & Dede H. Aduayom, 2014. "Consumption Bundle Aggregation in Poverty Measurement: Implications for Poverty and its Dynamics in Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-150, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Van Campenhout, Bjorn & Ssekabira, Haruna & Aduayom, Dede H., 2014. "Consumption bundle aggregation in poverty measurement: Implications for poverty and its dynamics in Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series 150, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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