IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/kyklos/v77y2024i4p895-921.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Patriarchy, development, and the divergence of women's empowerment

Author

Listed:
  • Lewis Davis

Abstract

How do culture and development interact to determine women's empowerment? I develop a simple model of women's labor supply in which economic development simultaneously reduces the stigma against women working and relaxes the consumption constraint that often forces poor women to work. The model predicts that women's labor supply will follow a U‐shaped relationship, falling and then rising as development proceeds. In addition, in countries with more patriarchal values, women's labor supply will be lower, fall over a greater income range, and then rise more slowly on the upward sloping portion of the curve. I investigate and confirm these predictions in a broad sample of countries employing six different measures of historical patriarchy as well as a composite measure of patriarchal history. These findings indicate that as economic development proceeds, women's labor supply will diverge across countries as differences in the intensity of patriarchal values play an ever larger role in the allocation of women's labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Lewis Davis, 2024. "Patriarchy, development, and the divergence of women's empowerment," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(4), pages 895-921, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:77:y:2024:i:4:p:895-921
    DOI: 10.1111/kykl.12398
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/kykl.12398
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/kykl.12398?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. McCleary, Rachel & Barro, Robert, 2003. "Religion and Economic Growth across Countries," Scholarly Articles 3708464, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    2. Stephan Klasen, 2019. "What Explains Uneven Female Labor Force Participation Levels and Trends in Developing Countries?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 161-197.
    3. Luca J. Uberti & Elodie Douarin, 2023. "The Feminisation U, cultural norms, and the plough," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 5-35, January.
    4. Roland, Gerard, 2020. "The deep historical roots of modern culture: A comparative perspective," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 483-508.
    5. Alberto Alesina & Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Paola Giuliano, 2015. "Family Values And The Regulation Of Labor," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 599-630, August.
    6. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    7. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    8. L. Rachel Ngai & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "Gender Gaps and the Rise of the Service Economy," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 1-44, October.
    9. Kristin Mammen & Christina Paxson, 2000. "Women's Work and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 141-164, Fall.
    10. Quamrul Ashraf & Oded Galor, 2011. "Dynamics and Stagnation in the Malthusian Epoch," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 2003-2041, August.
    11. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 225-282, January.
    12. Tam, Henry, 2011. "U-shaped female labor participation with economic development: Some panel data evidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 140-142, February.
    13. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/20g3idj0jd9iqosvjjdcbu44lu is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Guido Tabellini, 2008. "Presidential Address Institutions and Culture," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(2-3), pages 255-294, 04-05.
    15. Cooray, Arusha & Potrafke, Niklas, 2011. "Gender inequality in education: Political institutions or culture and religion?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 268-280, June.
    16. Lewis Davis & Jia Gao, 2020. "Preferences or Patriarchy: Why Do Religious Women Work Less?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 287-310, January.
    17. Seth W. Norton & Annette Tomal, 2009. "Religion and Female Educational Attainment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(5), pages 961-986, August.
    18. Victor Hiller, 2014. "Gender Inequality, Endogenous Cultural Norms, and Economic Development," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 116(2), pages 455-481, April.
    19. Debski, Julia & Jetter, Michael & Mösle, Saskia & Stadelmann, David, 2018. "Gender and corruption: The neglected role of culture," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 526-537.
    20. Oana Borcan & Ola Olsson & Louis Putterman, 2018. "State history and economic development: evidence from six millennia," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-40, March.
    21. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2020. "Cultural roots of family ties," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(6), pages 785-808, December.
    22. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2015. "Gender in Language and Gender in Employment," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 403-424, December.
    23. Lewis Davis, 2016. "Individual Responsibility and Economic Development: Evidence from Rainfall Data," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(3), pages 426-470, August.
    24. Goldin, Claudia, 1992. "Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195072709.
    25. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano & Nathan Nunn, 2013. "On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 469-530.
    26. Psacharopoulos, George & Tzannatos, Zafiris, 1989. "Female Labor Force Participation: An International Perspective," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 4(2), pages 187-201, July.
    27. Victor Gay & Estefania Santacreu-Vasut & Amir Shoham, 2013. "The Grammatical Origins of Gender Roles," Working Papers hal-04046900, HAL.
    28. Casper Hansen & Peter Jensen & Christian Skovsgaard, 2015. "Modern gender roles and agricultural history: the Neolithic inheritance," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 365-404, December.
    29. Ann Mari May & Mary G. McGarvey & David Kucera, 2018. "Gender and European Economic Policy: A Survey of the Views of European Economists on Contemporary Economic Policy," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(1), pages 162-183, February.
    30. Galor, Oded & Weil, David N, 1996. "The Gender Gap, Fertility, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 374-387, June.
    31. Licht, Amir N. & Goldschmidt, Chanan & Schwartz, Shalom H., 2007. "Culture rules: The foundations of the rule of law and other norms of governance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 659-688, December.
    32. Claudia R. Williamson & Carrie B. Kerekes, 2011. "Securing Private Property: Formal versus Informal Institutions," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 537-572.
    33. Michelle Rendall, 2010. "Brain versus Brawn: The Realization of Women's Comparative Advantage," 2010 Meeting Papers 926, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    34. Seguino, Stephanie, 2011. "Help or Hindrance? Religion's Impact on Gender Inequality in Attitudes and Outcomes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1308-1321, August.
    35. Ross, Michael L., 2008. "Oil, Islam, and Women," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 102(1), pages 107-123, February.
    36. Davis, Lewis & Reynolds, Megan, 2018. "Gendered language and the educational gender gap," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 46-48.
    37. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2022. "Individualism and women's economic rights," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 579-597.
    38. Seth W. Norton & Annette Tomal, 2009. "Religion and Female Educational Attainment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(5), pages 961-986, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Davis, Lewis S. & Mavisakalyan, Astghik, 2024. "Individualism and the legal status of prostitution," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 714-732.
    2. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2022. "Individualism and women's economic rights," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 579-597.
    3. Luca J. Uberti & Elodie Douarin, 2023. "The Feminisation U, cultural norms, and the plough," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 5-35, January.
    4. Lewis Davis & Jia Gao, 2020. "Preferences or Patriarchy: Why Do Religious Women Work Less?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 287-310, January.
    5. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2019. "Does individualism promote gender equality?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Isis Gaddis & Stephan Klasen, 2014. "Economic development, structural change, and women’s labor force participation:," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 639-681, July.
    7. Bozzano, Monica, 2017. "On the historical roots of women's empowerment across Italian provinces: religion or family culture?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 24-46.
    8. Doepke, M. & Tertilt, M., 2016. "Families in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1789-1891, Elsevier.
    9. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar, 2019. "Oil and women: A re-examination," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 191-200.
    10. Jamie Bologna Pavlik & Andrew T. Young, 2021. "The legacy of representation in medieval Europe for incomes and institutions today," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(1), pages 414-448, July.
    11. Lewis Davis & Claudia R. Williamson, 2018. "Open Borders for Business? Causes and Consequences of the Regulation of Foreign Entry," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(2), pages 508-536, October.
    12. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    13. Tendai Zawaira & Manoel Bittencourt & Matthew W. Clance, 2018. "Gender Inequality and Marketisation Hypothesis in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 201876, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    14. Abdulla, Kanat & Serikbayeva, Balzhan, 2024. "Gender gaps in labor market outcomes in a resource-dependent country," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    15. Monica Bozzano, 2015. "On the Historical Roots of Women’s Empowerment across Italian Provinces: Religion or Family Culture?," Department of Economics 0052, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    16. Victor Hiller, 2014. "Gender Inequality, Endogenous Cultural Norms, and Economic Development," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 116(2), pages 455-481, April.
    17. Niklas Potrafke, 2016. "Policies against human trafficking: the role of religion and political institutions," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 353-386, November.
    18. Do, Quy-Toan & Levchenko, Andrei A. & Raddatz, Claudio, 2016. "Comparative advantage, international trade, and fertility," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 48-66.
    19. Tiago Cavalcanti & José Tavares, 2016. "The Output Cost of Gender Discrimination: A Model‐based Macroeconomics Estimate," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(590), pages 109-134, February.
    20. Quamrul Ashraf & Oded Galor, 2013. "The 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 1-46, February.

    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:kyklos:v:77:y:2024:i:4:p:895-921. 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: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0023-5962 .

    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.