Soil Endowments, Female Labor Force Participation and the Demographic Deficit of Women in India

Carranza, Eliana

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGE AT MARRIAGE;    AGE GROUP;    AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES;    AGRICULTURAL INPUTS;    AGRICULTURAL LABOR;   

RP-ID  :  WPS5974

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Differences in relative femaleemployment by soil texture are used to explain theheterogeneous deficit of female children across districtswithin India. Soil texture varies exogenously and determinesthe depth of land tillage. Deep tillage, possible in loamybut not in clayey soil textures, reduces the demand forlabor in agricultural tasks traditionally performed bywomen. Girls have a lower economic value where female laboropportunities are fewer. Consistently, higher relativefemale employment in agriculture improves the ratio offemale to male children in districts that have a smallerfraction of loamy relative to clayey soils.