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What determines women's labor supply? The role of home productivity and social norms

Author

Listed:
  • Farzana AFRIDI

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

  • Monisankar BISHNU

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

  • Kanika MAHAJAN

    (Ashoka University)

Abstract

We highlight the role of home productivity and social norms in explaining the gender gap in labor force participation (LFP), and the non-monotonic relationship of women's LFP with their education in India. We construct a model of couples’ time allocation decisions allowing for both market and home productivity to improve with own education. Incorporating individual preference to produce a minimum level of the home good due to social norms, we show that our theoretical model can closely replicate the U-shaped relationship between women's education and their labor supply. Our analysis suggests that home productivity, along with social benchmarks on couples’ time allocation to home good, can be critical determinants of women's labor supply in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Farzana AFRIDI & Monisankar BISHNU & Kanika MAHAJAN, 2024. "What determines women's labor supply? The role of home productivity and social norms," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 90(1), pages 55-87, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:90:y:2024:i:1:p:55-87
    DOI: 10.1017/dem.2022.22
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. To Prosper, India Must Close Its Gender Employment Gap
      by Kanika Mahajan in Project Syndicate on 2024-11-05 14:34:16

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    2. Afridi, Farzana & Mahajan, Kanika & Sangwan, Nikita, 2022. "The gendered effects of droughts: Production shocks and labor response in agriculture," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Chhavi Tiwari & Srinivas Goli & Anu Rammohan, 2022. "Reproductive Burden and Its Impact on Female Labor Market Outcomes in India: Evidence from Longitudinal Analyses," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2493-2529, December.
    4. Sugat Chaturvedi & Kanika Mahajan & Zahra Siddique, 2024. "Using Domain-Specific Word Embeddings to Examine the Demand for Skills," Research in Labor Economics, in: Big Data Applications in Labor Economics, Part B, volume 52, pages 171-223, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Afridi, Farzana & Mahajan, Kanika & Sangwan, Nikita, 2021. "The Gendered Effects of Climate Change: Production Shocks and Labor Response in Agriculture," IZA Discussion Papers 14568, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Hazarika, Gautam, 2024. "The cultural role of rice cultivation in female workforce participation in India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    7. Gupta, Tanu & Negi, Digvijay S., 2021. "Daughter vs. Daughter-in-Law: Kinship Roles and Women's Time Use in India," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313373, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Gautam Hazarika & Maroula Khraiche & Levent Kutlu, 2024. "Gender equity in labor market opportunities and aggregate technical efficiency: a case of equity promoting efficiency," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(23), pages 2806-2817, May.
    9. Tanu Gupta, 2022. "Women's inheritance rights and time use: Evidence from Hindu Succession Act in India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-20, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Afridi, Farzana & Bishnu, Monisankar & Mahajan, Kanika, 2020. "Gendering Technological Change: Evidence from Agricultural Mechanization," IZA Discussion Papers 13712, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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