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Market imperfections exacerbate the gender gap: the case of Malawi

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  • Palacios-Lopez,Amparo
  • López,Ramón
  • Palacios-Lopez,Amparo
  • López,Ramón

Abstract

This paper hypothesizes that labor and credit market imperfections?by discouraging off-farm income-generating activities and restricting access to inputs, respectively?affect female farm productivity more deeply than male productivity. The paper develops a theoretical model that decomposes the contribution of various market imperfections to the gender productivity gap. The paper shows empirically that agricultural labor productivity is on average 44 percent lower on plots managed by female heads of household than on those managed by male heads. Thirty-four percent of this gap is explained by differences in labor market access and 29 percent by differences in credit access.

Suggested Citation

  • Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & López,Ramón & Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & López,Ramón, 2015. "Market imperfections exacerbate the gender gap: the case of Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7300, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7300
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    Inequality; Gender and Economics; Economics and Gender; Gender and Poverty; Gender and Economic Policy; Gender and Development; Labor Markets; Rural Labor Markets;
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