Constraints to Agricultural Development: Input Use in Households Under Non-Separability

Dickinson, Jeffrey (2020): Constraints to Agricultural Development: Input Use in Households Under Non-Separability.

Abstract

This paper analyzes labor market frictions and evaluates the demand for different labor types in Tanzanian agricultural labor markets. Using panel data from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) I estimate labor demand functions separately for different types of labor (family, hired, prep, harvest, men's and women's) and find significant differences in the coefficients on the estimated labor demand functions. Dividing labor into appropriate categories and estimating demand for preparatory and harvest labor separately is critical since agricultural labor demand is highly-seasonal. Plots of land managed by household heads receive a disproportionate share of men's labor. Plots managed by women receive a lower share of the labor applied by adult men in the household and a higher share of the labor applied by adult women involved in farming. The result indicates intra-household inefficiency resulting from gender and social norms and suggests potential for gains from more extensive cooperation and coordination among household members.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: development, labor, agricultural labor, agriculture, Tanzania
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J4 - Particular Labor Markets > J43 - Agricultural Labor Markets; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q0 - General > Q00 - General

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