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Soft skills for hard constraints : evidence from high-achieving female farmers

Author

Listed:
  • Montalvao,Joao
  • Frese,Michael Dr.
  • Goldstein,Markus P.
  • Kilic,Talip
  • Montalvao,Joao
  • Frese,Michael Dr.
  • Goldstein,Markus P.
  • Kilic,Talip

Abstract

This paper documents the positive link between the noncognitive skills of women farmers and the adoption of a cash crop. The context is Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, where the majority of rural households practice subsistence farming. The analysis finds that a one standard deviation increase in noncognitive ability related to perseverance is associated with a five percentage point (or 33 percent) increase in the probability of adoption of the main cash crop. This link is not explained by differences across women in education and cognitive skills. It is also not explained by the fact that women with higher noncognitive ability tend to be married to husbands of higher noncognitive ability and education. The effect of female noncognitive skills on adoption is concentrated in patrilocal communities, where women face greater adversity and thus where it would be expected that the returns to such skills would be highest. One main channel through which noncognitive skills seem to work is through the use of productive inputs, including higher levels of labor, fertilizer, and agricultural advice services.

Suggested Citation

  • Montalvao,Joao & Frese,Michael Dr. & Goldstein,Markus P. & Kilic,Talip & Montalvao,Joao & Frese,Michael Dr. & Goldstein,Markus P. & Kilic,Talip, 2017. "Soft skills for hard constraints : evidence from high-achieving female farmers," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8095, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8095
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Achyuta Adhvaryu & Namrata Kala & Anant Nyshadham, 2018. "The Skills to Pay the Bills: Returns to On-the-job Soft Skills Training," NBER Working Papers 24313, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Botea, Ioana & Donald, Aletheia & Rouanet, Léa, 2021. "In it to win it? Self-esteem and income-earning among couples," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 488-506.
    3. Das,Smita & Delavallade,Clara Anne & Fashogbon,Ayodele Emmanuel & Ogunleye,Wale Olatunji & Papineni,Sreelakshmi, 2021. "Occupational Sex Segregation in Agriculture : Evidence on Gender Norms and Socio-Emotional Skills in Nigeria," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9695, The World Bank.

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