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The penalty of work from home: gender gap in productivity of unorganised manufacturing firms in India

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  • Saheli Bose

    (Centre for Training and Research in Public Finance and Policy, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences)

Abstract

This study estimates the contribution of gendered social norms in explaining the gender gap in productivity of unorganised manufacturing firms. Restrictions on mobility and burden of household work mean that female firm-owners primarily operate from their household premises. Using data from unorganised firms operating in the manufacturing sector in India, this paper finds gender gap in firm productivity. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition at mean show that despite controlling for size of the firm, assets and other conventional factors, the location of a female proprietary firm within the household premises of the owner explains 19% of the observed gender gap in productivity. The RIF decomposition results show that at the different quartiles, this contribution varies from 19 to 36% of the composition effect. The evidence suggests that the persistence of the gender gap in firm productivity is associated with the persistence of gendered social norms.

Suggested Citation

  • Saheli Bose, 2023. "The penalty of work from home: gender gap in productivity of unorganised manufacturing firms in India," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 351-369, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:60:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s11187-022-00637-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-022-00637-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Balaji, Arun M & Vijay, R, 2023. "Changing structural composition of the Informal Manufacturing Sector in India during 2011-16: An analysis of unit-level NSSO Data," MPRA Paper 118846, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Markus Nagler & Johannes Rincke & Erwin Winkler, 2024. "Working from home, commuting, and gender," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 1-23, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender-gap; Firm productivity; Social norms; Unorganised sector; India; Decomposition method;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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