Citation

Lei L, Desai S, Vanneman R. Fem. Econ. 2019; 25(4): 94-125.

Affiliation

Department of Sociology Maryland Population Research Center University of Maryland - College Park 2112 Parren Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, 3834 Campus Dr, College Park, MD 20742, reeve@umd.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13545701.2019.1655162

PMID

31754324

PMCID

PMC6871646

Abstract

Indian women's labor force participation is extremely low and they are much less likely than men to work in the non-farm sector. Earlier research explained women's labor supply by individual characteristics, social institutions, and cultural norms, but not enough attention has been paid to the labor market opportunity structure that constrains women's labor market activities. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) in 2004-05 and 2011-12, we examine how village transportation infrastructure affects women's and men's agricultural and non-agricultural employment.

RESULTS from fixed-effect analysis show that access by paved or unpaved roads and frequent bus services increase the odds of non-agricultural employment among both males and females. The effect of road access on non-farm employment (relative to not-working) is stronger among women than among men. Improved transportation infrastructure has a stronger positive effect on women's non-farm employment in communities with more egalitarian gender norms.

Language: en