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Input Choices In Agriculture: Is There A Gender Bias?

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  • Priya BHAGOWALIA
  • Susan E. CHEN
  • Gerald SHIVELY

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Purdue University)

Abstract

Most developing countries strive to improve agricultural productivity by relaxing credit constraints, supplying better inputs, and improving marketing and distribution. However the efficacy of these reforms needs to be examined in the context of the behavioral responses of farming households. This study examines gender biases within households that affect short-term decisions with immediate and long-term implications. This study utilizes data from ICRISAT's village level studies in India (1975-85) to highlight the effects of child gender on the use of agricultural inputs. The main finding is that households with boys tend to use purchased inputs such as fertilizers and insecticides more intensively compared with households with girls. In general, household with boys also tend to have larger land holdings, and use animal and human labor to a greater extent than household with girls.

Suggested Citation

  • Priya BHAGOWALIA & Susan E. CHEN & Gerald SHIVELY, 2007. "Input Choices In Agriculture: Is There A Gender Bias?," Working Papers 07-09, Purdue University, College of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:pae:wpaper:07-09
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    2. Vinod K. Hariharan & Surabhi Mittal & Munmun Rai & Tripti Agarwal & Kailash C. Kalvaniya & Clare M. Stirling & M. L. Jat, 2020. "Does climate-smart village approach influence gender equality in farming households? A case of two contrasting ecologies in India," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 77-90, January.
    3. Joel Negin & Roseline Remans & Susan Karuti & Jessica Fanzo, 2009. "Integrating a broader notion of food security and gender empowerment into the African Green Revolution," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 1(3), pages 351-360, September.
    4. Mara José Montenegro Guerra & Sandeep Mohapatra & Brent Swallow, 2019. "What influence do empowered women have? Land and the reality of women’s relative power in Peru," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1225-1255, December.
    5. Jolejole-Foreman, Maria Christina & Baylis, Katherine R. & Lipper, Leslie, 2012. "Land Degradation’s Implications on Agricultural Value of Production in Ethiopia: A look inside the bowl," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126251, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Dokken, Therere, 2013. "Land tenure in Tigray: How large is the gender bias?," CLTS Working Papers 5/13, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 10 Oct 2019.
    7. Bisseleua, D.H.B. & Idrissou, L. & Ogunniyi, A. & Atta-Krah, K., 2018. "Diversification and livelihood strategies in the cocoa belt of West Africa: The need for fundamental change," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 10, pages 73-79.
    8. Therese Dokken, 2015. "Allocation of Land Tenure Rights in Tigray: How Large Is the Gender Bias?," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 91(1), pages 106-125.
    9. Doss, Cheryl & Kim, Sung Mi & Njuki, Jemimah & Hillenbrand, Emily & Miruka, Maureen, 2014. "Women’s individual and joint property ownership: Effects on household decisionmaking:," IFPRI discussion papers 1347, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Kathrin Hasler & Hans-Werner Olfs & Onno Omta & Stefanie Bröring, 2017. "Drivers for the Adoption of Different Eco-Innovation Types in the Fertilizer Sector: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, November.
    11. Bhattarai, Basundhara & Beilin, Ruth & Ford, Rebecca, 2015. "Gender, Agrobiodiversity, and Climate Change: A Study of Adaptation Practices in the Nepal Himalayas," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 122-132.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender bias; agricultural economics; inputs; village level studies; son;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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