IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/afrdev/v32y2020i4p661-672.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cooking technology and female labor market outcomes in sub‐Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Efobi Uchenna
  • Adejumo O. Oluwabunmi

Abstract

The majority of households in the sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) region cook with solid fuel and other polluting fuels like kerosene, and women in this region spend more than 4 hr of their productive time in cooking activities with such energy sources. Such time input in cooking has a high cost on the labor market outcome of women. This study examines the long‐term relationship between cooking technology usage and women's labor market outcomes in 45 SSA countries for the period 2000–2017. The results show that cooking technology usage improves the female labor force participation rate, and reduces the labor force participation gap and female unemployment rate. This finding is consistent even when subjected to a battery of robustness checks. The study also finds some heterogeneous effects in the relationship by the economic structure of the sampled countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Efobi Uchenna & Adejumo O. Oluwabunmi, 2020. "Cooking technology and female labor market outcomes in sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 661-672, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:afrdev:v:32:y:2020:i:4:p:661-672
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-8268.12468
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12468
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1467-8268.12468?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Advancement: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Research Africa Network Working Papers 18/005, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    2. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology Advancement: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(2), pages 231-246, June.
    3. Taryn Dinkelman, 2011. "The Effects of Rural Electrification on Employment: New Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3078-3108, December.
    4. Ana Dammert & Jose Galdo & Virgilio Galdo, 2015. "Integrating mobile phone technologies into labor-market intermediation: a multi-treatment experimental design," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, December.
    5. Jeremy Greenwood & Nezih Guner & Georgi Kocharkov & Cezar Santos, 2016. "Technology and the Changing Family: A Unified Model of Marriage, Divorce, Educational Attainment, and Married Female Labor-Force Participation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 1-41, January.
    6. Rema Hanna & Esther Duflo & Michael Greenstone, 2016. "Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 80-114, February.
    7. Mehdi Ben Jebli & Slim Ben Youssef & Ilhan Ozturk, 2015. "The Role of Renewable Energy Consumption and Trade: Environmental Kuznets Curve Analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa Countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(3), pages 288-300, September.
    8. Tiago V. De V. Cavalcanti & José Tavares, 2011. "Women Prefer Larger Governments: Growth, Structural Transformation, And Government Size," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(1), pages 155-171, January.
    9. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond, 2000. "GMM Estimation with persistent panel data: an application to production functions," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-340.
    10. Almaz Eshete, 1992. "Population and Women in Development: Gender Issues in the Context of Population and Development," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 4(1), pages 79-117.
    11. Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2015. "Globalization and the transmission of social values: The case of tolerance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 371-389.
    12. Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2014. "Explaining Job Polarization: Routine-Biased Technological Change and Offshoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(8), pages 2509-2526, August.
    13. David Roodman, 2009. "A Note on the Theme of Too Many Instruments," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(1), pages 135-158, February.
    14. C. Mark Blackden & Quentin Wodon, 2006. "Gender, Time Use, and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7214.
    15. Comin, Diego & Mestieri, Martí, 2014. "Technology Diffusion: Measurement, Causes, and Consequences," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 2, pages 565-622, Elsevier.
    16. Acemoglu, Daron & Autor, David, 2011. "Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 12, pages 1043-1171, Elsevier.
    17. Patricia Iyore Ajayi, 2018. "Urban Household Energy Demand in Southwest Nigeria," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 30(4), pages 410-422, December.
    18. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    19. Jacob Novignon & Justice Nonvignon & Eric Arthur, 2015. "Health Status and Labour Force Participation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 27(1), pages 14-26, March.
    20. Coen-Pirani, Daniele & León, Alexis & Lugauer, Steven, 2010. "The effect of household appliances on female labor force participation: Evidence from microdata," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 503-513, June.
    21. Blackden, Mark & Wodon, Quentin, 2006. "Gender, Time Use, and Poverty: Introduction," MPRA Paper 11080, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Marc A Jeuland & Subhrendu K Pattanayak, 2012. "Benefits and Costs of Improved Cookstoves: Assessing the Implications of Variability in Health, Forest and Climate Impacts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(2), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agénor, Pierre-Richard & Agénor, Madina, 2023. "Access to infrastructure and women’s time allocation: Implications for growth and gender equality," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Itchoko M.M. Mwa Ndjokou, Prince Piva Asaloko, 2024. "Empirical verification of the link between the digital divide and women's economic participation in Africa," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 21(1), pages 123-164, June.
    3. Victoria Oluwatoyin Foye & Oluwasegun Olawale Benjamin, 2021. "Natural gas consumption and economic performance in selected sub‐Saharan African countries: A heterogeneous panel ARDL analysis," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(3), pages 518-532, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robyn Meeks & Katharine R. E. Sims & Hope Thompson, 2019. "Waste Not: Can Household Biogas Deliver Sustainable Development?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 72(3), pages 763-794, March.
    2. Jeremy Greenwood & Nezih Guner & Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2017. "Family Economics Writ Large," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1346-1434, December.
    3. T. Gries & R. Grundmann & I. Palnau & M. Redlin, 2017. "Innovations, growth and participation in advanced economies - a review of major concepts and findings," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 293-351, April.
    4. Davide Consoli & Francesco Vona & Francesco Rentocchini, 2016. "That was then, this is now: skills and routinization in the 2000s," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(5), pages 847-866.
    5. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2021. "Income Levels, Governance and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 71-103, February.
    6. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2020. "Remittances, the diffusion of information and industrialisation in Africa," Contemporary Social Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 98-117, January.
    7. Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernandez Sierra, Manuel, 2018. "The distribution of the gender wage gap," ISER Working Paper Series 2018-10, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    8. Sabien Dobbelaere & Mark Vancauteren, 2014. "Market imperfections, skills and total factor productivity : Firm-level evidence on Belgium and the Netherlands," Working Paper Research 267, National Bank of Belgium.
    9. Itchoko M.M. Mwa Ndjokou, Prince Piva Asaloko, 2024. "Empirical verification of the link between the digital divide and women's economic participation in Africa," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 21(1), pages 123-164, June.
    10. Simplice Asongu & Christelle Meniago, 2018. "Technology and persistence in global software piracy," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 43-63, October.
    11. Asongu, Simplice & Odhiambo, Nicholas, 2019. "Foreign Aid Complementarities and Inclusive Human Development in Africa," MPRA Paper 101086, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Van Roy, Vincent & Vértesy, Dániel & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "Technology and employment: Mass unemployment or job creation? Empirical evidence from European patenting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1762-1776.
    13. Jeremy Greenwood & Nezih Guner & Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2017. "Family Economics Writ Large," Working Papers wp2018_1706, CEMFI.
    14. Kohlin, Gunnar & Sills, Erin O. & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. & Wilfong, Christopher, 2011. "Energy, gender and development: what are the linkages ? where is the evidence ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5800, The World Bank.
    15. Nkoumou Ngoa, Gaston Brice & Song, Jacques Simon, 2021. "Female participation in African labor markets: The role of information and communication technologies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9).
    16. Coveri, Andrea & Paglialunga, Elena & Zanfei, Antonello, 2024. "Global value chains and within-country inequality: The role of functional positioning," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 382-397.
    17. Simplice Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2020. "Financial access, governance and insurance sector development in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 47(4), pages 849-875, February.
    18. Pamela E. Ofori & Simplice A. Asongu & Vanessa S. Tchamyou, 2021. "The Synergy between Governance and Economic Integration in Promoting Female Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 21/071, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    19. Tchamyou, Vanessa S. & Erreygers, Guido & Cassimon, Danny, 2019. "Inequality, ICT and financial access in Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 169-184.
    20. Dalle Nogare, Chiara & Kauder, Björn, 2017. "Term limits for mayors and intergovernmental grants: Evidence from Italian cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-11.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:afrdev:v:32:y:2020:i:4:p:661-672. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/afdbgci.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.