Land Market Restrictions, Women's Labor Force Participation and Wages

37 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2014

See all articles by M. Shahe Emran

M. Shahe Emran

George Washington University - Department of Economics

Forhad Shilpi

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Date Written: August 16, 2014

Abstract

We analyze the effects of land market restrictions on the rural labor market outcomes for women. The land restrictions can have a gender and age bias because of an ex-post asymmetry in migration costs arising from older women's comparative advantage in home goods production. For identification, we exploit a natural experiment in Sri Lanka where historical malaria played a unique role in land policy. We provide robust evidence of a positive effect of land restrictions on women's labor force participation, and negative effects on female wages. The empirical results suggest that the burden of land market restrictions falls disproportionately on older women.

Keywords: Land Market Restrictions, Labor Market, Women's Labor Force Participation, Wage, Sri Lanka, Historical Malaria

JEL Classification: O10, O12, J31, J61

Suggested Citation

Emran, M. Shahe and Shilpi, Forhad, Land Market Restrictions, Women's Labor Force Participation and Wages (August 16, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2481707 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2481707

M. Shahe Emran (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Department of Economics ( email )

2115 G Street NW
302 Monroe Hall
Washington, DC 20052
United States

Forhad Shilpi

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H. Street, N.W.
MSN3-311
Washington, DC 20433
United States
202-458-7476 (Phone)
202-522-1151 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
41
Abstract Views
555
PlumX Metrics