Gender, agricultural production, and the theory of the household
Udry, C.
Journal of Political Economy 104(5): 1010-1046
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-3808 DOI: 10.2307/2138950Document Number: 306401
Virtually all models of the household assume that the allocation of resources is Pareto efficient. Within many African households, agricultural production occurs on many plots controlled by different members of the household. Pareto efficiency implies that factors should be allocated efficiently across these plots. It is found that plots controlled by women are farmed much less intensively than similar plots within the household controlled by men. The estimates imply that about 6% of output is lost because of inefficient factor allocation within the household. A new approach to modelling intrahousehold allocation consistent with the empirical results is suggested.