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Demographic Shocks and Women’s Labor Market Participation: Evidence from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in India

Author

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  • Fenske, James
  • Gupta, Bishnupriya
  • Yuan, Song

Abstract

How did the 1918 influenza pandemic affect female labor force participation in India over the short run and the medium run? We use an event-study approach at the district level and four waves of decadal census data in order to answer this question. We find that districts most adversely affected by influenza mortality saw a temporary increase in female labor force participation in 1921, an increase that was concentrated in the service sector. We find suggestive evidence that distress labor supply by widows and rising wages help account for this result.

Suggested Citation

  • Fenske, James & Gupta, Bishnupriya & Yuan, Song, 2022. "Demographic Shocks and Women’s Labor Market Participation: Evidence from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in India," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(3), pages 875-912, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:82:y:2022:i:3:p:875-912_8
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    Cited by:

    1. Gallardo-Albarrán, Daniel & de Zwart, Pim, 2021. "A bitter epidemic: The impact of the 1918 influenza on sugar production in Java," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    2. James Fenske & Bishnupriya Gupta & Cora Neumann, 2025. "Missing women in colonial India," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 78(4), pages 997-1038, November.
    3. Chaudhary, Latika & Fenske, James, 2020. "Did railways affect literacy? Evidence from India," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1320, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Ashwini Deshpande, 2023. "The Covid-19 Pandemic and Gendered Division of Paid Work, Domestic Chores and Leisure: Evidence from India’s First Wave," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Indrani Gupta & Mausumi Das (ed.), Contextualizing the COVID Pandemic in India, chapter 0, pages 143-168, Springer.
    5. Fenske, James & Kala, Namrata & Wei, Jinlin, 2023. "Railways and cities in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    6. Bauernschuster, Stefan & Blum, Matthias & Hornung, Erik & Koenig, Christoph, 2025. "The political effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Weimar Germany," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    7. Beyer, Robert C.M. & Jain, Tarun & Sinha, Sonalika, 2023. "Lights out? COVID-19 containment policies and economic activity," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Deshpande, Ashwini, 2020. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Gendered Division of Paid and Unpaid Work: Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 13815, IZA Network @ LISER.
    9. Chaudhary, Latika & Dupraz, Yannick & Fenske, James, 2025. "A Century of Language Barriers to Migration in India," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1580, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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