IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/asieco/v84y2023ics1049007822001154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in women’s empowerment in the household, women’s diet diversity, and their relationship against the background of COVID-19 in southern Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Lecoutere, Els
  • van den Berg, Marrit
  • de Brauw, Alan

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, associated public health measures, and people’s reactions were projected to have caused job losses among women, a decline in women’s empowerment and reduced women’s diet diversity. Using a November 2020 telephone survey to re-interview adult female respondents of a November 2019 in-person survey, contrary to expectations we find that more women found than lost jobs, and women’s diet diversity increased over the year partly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. We did not find evidence of a decline in women’s involvement in food purchase decisions, nor women’s autonomy over use of household income. The change in women’s outside employment is neither statistically related to changes in women’s involvement in food purchase decisions, changes women’s autonomy over use of household income, nor changes in women’s diet diversity. Change in women’s involvement in food purchase decisions is positively related with change in women’s diet diversity and change in women’s autonomy over income use is negatively related with change in women’s diet diversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Lecoutere, Els & van den Berg, Marrit & de Brauw, Alan, 2023. "Changes in women’s empowerment in the household, women’s diet diversity, and their relationship against the background of COVID-19 in southern Bangladesh," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:84:y:2023:i:c:s1049007822001154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2022.101559
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049007822001154
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.asieco.2022.101559?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anderson, Michael L., 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 103(484), pages 1481-1495.
    2. Jody Harris & Lutz Depenbusch & Arshad Ahmad Pal & Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair & Srinivasan Ramasamy, 2020. "Food system disruption: initial livelihood and dietary effects of COVID-19 on vegetable producers in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 841-851, August.
    3. Janssens, Wendy & Pradhan, Menno & de Groot, Richard & Sidze, Estelle & Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre & Abajobir, Amanuel, 2021. "The short-term economic effects of COVID-19 on low-income households in rural Kenya: An analysis using weekly financial household data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Abdelbaset M. Alkhawaldeh & Salniza Md. Salleh & Fairol Bin Halim, 2016. "Brand Equity and Brand Loyalty: New Perspective," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(4), pages 722-730.
    5. Hazel Jean L. Malapit & Esha Sraboni & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Akhter U. Ahmed, 2019. "Intrahousehold empowerment gaps in agriculture and children's well‐being in Bangladesh," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(2), pages 176-203, March.
    6. Kate Bahn & Jennifer Cohen & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, 2020. "A feminist perspective on COVID‐19 and the value of care work globally," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(5), pages 695-699, September.
    7. Egger, Dennis & Miguel, Edward & Warren, Shana S. & Shenoy, Ashish & Collins, Elliott & Karlan, Dean & Parkerson, Doug & Mobarak, A. Mushfiq & Fink, Günther & Udry, Christopher & Walker, Michael & Hau, 2021. "Falling living standards during the COVID-19 crisis: Quantitative evidence from nine developing countries," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(6), pages 1-1.
    8. Papa A. Seck & Jessamyn O. Encarnacion & Cecilia Tinonin & Sara Duerto-Valero, 2021. "Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific: Early Evidence on Deepening Socioeconomic Inequalities in Paid and Unpaid Work," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1-2), pages 117-132, April.
    9. Kalle Hirvonen & Alan de Brauw & Gashaw T. Abate, 2021. "Food Consumption and Food Security during the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Addis Ababa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 772-789, May.
    10. Bhagowalia, Priya & Menon, Purnima & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2012. "What Dimensions of Women’s Empowerment Matter Most for Child Nutrition? Evidence Using Nationally Representative Data from Bangladesh:," IFPRI discussion papers 1192, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Cheryl R. Doss & Agnes R. Quisumbing, 2020. "Understanding rural household behavior: Beyond Boserup and Becker," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 47-58, January.
    12. Jasmine Jaim, 2021. "Exist or exit? Women business‐owners in Bangladesh during COVID‐19," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(S1), pages 209-226, January.
    13. Ceballos, Francisco & Kannan, Samyuktha & Kramer, Berber, 2020. "Impacts of a national lockdown on smallholder farmers’ income and food security: Empirical evidence from two states in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    14. Abdelbaset M. Alkhawaldeh & Salniza Md. Salleh & Fairol Bin Halim, 2016. "Brand Equity and Brand Loyalty: New Perspective," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(4), pages 722-730.
    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. Aminou Arouna & Souleïmane A. Adekambi & Rachidi Aboudou & Wilfried Gnipabo Yergo & Gaudiose Mujawamariya, 2024. "Impact assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic on the income and food security of rice smallholder producers in five African countries," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(11), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Hammond, James & Siegal, Kim & Milner, Daniel & Elimu, Emmanuel & Vail, Taylor & Cathala, Paul & Gatera, Arsene & Karim, Azfar & Lee, Ja-Eun & Douxchamps, Sabine & Tu, Mai Thanh & Ouma, Emily & Lukuyu, 2022. "Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    3. Nitya Mittal & Janina Isabel Steinert & Sebastian Vollmer, 2023. "COVID-19 pandemic, losses of livelihoods and uneven recovery in Pune, India," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Martin Paul Jr. Tabe‐Ojong & Bisrat Haile Gebrekidan & Emmanuel Nshakira‐Rukundo & Jan Börner & Thomas Heckelei, 2022. "COVID‐19 in rural Africa: Food access disruptions, food insecurity and coping strategies in Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(5), pages 719-738, September.
    5. Boglárka Anna Éliás & Attila Jámbor, 2021. "Food Security and COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the First-Year Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Kalle Hirvonen & Bart Minten & Belay Mohammed & Seneshaw Tamru, 2021. "Food prices and marketing margins during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from vegetable value chains in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(3), pages 407-421, May.
    7. Soumya Gupta & Payal Seth & Mathew Abraham & Prabhu Pingali, 2022. "COVID-19 and women's nutrition security: panel data evidence from rural India," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 157-184, April.
    8. Lindsay M. Jaacks & Divya Veluguri & Rajesh Serupally & Aditi Roy & Poornima Prabhakaran & GV Ramanjaneyulu, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural production, livelihoods, and food security in India: baseline results of a phone survey," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1323-1339, October.
    9. Olive Umuhire Nsababera & Vibhuti Mendiratta & Hannah Sam, 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Household Welfare in the Comoros: The Experience of a Small Island Developing State," Global Perspectives on Wealth and Distribution, in: Shirley Johnson-Lans (ed.), The Coronavirus Pandemic and Inequality, chapter 0, pages 141-195, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Amare, Mulubrhan & Abay, Kibrom A. & Tiberti, Luca & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2021. "COVID-19 and food security: Panel data evidence from Nigeria," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    11. Giulia Barletta & Finório Castigo & Eva‐Maria Egger & Michael Keller & Vincenzo Salvucci & Finn Tarp, 2022. "The impact of COVID‐19 on consumption poverty in Mozambique," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 771-802, May.
    12. Ceballos, Francisco & Hernandez, Manuel A. & Paz, Cynthia, 2024. "COVID-19 and extreme weather: Impacts on food security and migration attitudes in the rural area of Guatemala," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    13. Rudin-Rush, Lorin & Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna & Bloem, Jeffrey R., 2022. "Food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in four African countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    14. Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clément & Lohnert, Maximilian & Panda, Poonam & Rathelot, Roland, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on India’s rural youth: Evidence from a panel survey and an experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    15. Bloem, Jeffrey & Michler, Jeffrey & Josephson, Anna & Rudin-Rush, Lorin, 2022. "COVID-19 Working Paper: Food Insecurity During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Four African Countries," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Administr), July.
    16. Abate, Gashaw T. & de Brauw, Alan & Hirvonen, Kalle & Wolle, Abdulazize, 2023. "Measuring consumption over the phone: Evidence from a survey experiment in urban Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    17. Saha, Shrabani & Sen, Kunal, 2023. "Do economic and political crises lead to corruption? The role of institutions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    18. Assem Abu Hatab & Lena Krautscheid & Mohamed Elsayied & Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah, 2024. "COVID-19 risk perception and food security in the MENA region: evidence from a multi-wave household survey," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(4), pages 989-1008, August.
    19. Mary Little & Olivia Sylvester, 2022. "Agroecological producers shortening food chains during Covid-19: opportunities and challenges in Costa Rica," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 1133-1140, September.
    20. Mrozek, Michał, 2022. "Indian Agriculture and Rural Economy in Terms of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Problems of World Agriculture / Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, vol. 22(4), December.

    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:eee:asieco:v:84:y:2023:i:c:s1049007822001154. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/asieco .

    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.