Caught in a Productivity Trap

Caught in a Productivity Trap

The vast majority of households in Malawi are involved in agriculture, and improving agricultural productivity, particularly for women, who tend to attain lower yields than men, could lead to significant poverty reduction and improvements in gender equality. This study asks two main questions: (1) exactly how great are the differences in agricultural productivity between men and women in Malawi? And (2) how much of the gender gap is explained by differences in levels of agricultural inputs vs. differences in returns to these inputs? The author trace the varying constraints faced by farmers at different levels of productivity, as well as at average productivity, a level of analysis that is crucial for designing effective interventions aimed at bridging the gender gap. We find that on average, female-managed plots are 25 percent less productive than plots managed by males. Further, the gender gap widens significantly as agricultural productivity increases. More than 80 percent of the mean gender gap is explained by differences in levels of agricultural inputs, suggesting that addressing market and institutional failures underlying these differences could have direct economic benefits.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kilic, Talip, Palacios-Lopez, Amparo, Goldstein, Markus
Format: Brief biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-09
Subjects:AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURAL GROWTH, AGRICULTURAL INPUTS, AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, CASH CROP CULTIVATION, CREDIT ACCESS, CROP PRODUCTION, CROP VARIETIES, CROPS, ECONOMICS, FARMER, FEMALE, FEMALE FARMERS, FEMALE LABOR, FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS, FEMALES, FERTILIZERS, GENDER, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENDER EQUALITY, GENDER GAP, GENDER PROGRAM, GENDER SEGREGATION, HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS, HUNGER, INCOME GROWTH, INTERVENTIONS, LIVING STANDARDS, MARKETING, POVERTY REDUCTION, PRODUCTIVITY, SCHOOLING, SUBSISTENCE, SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE, UNITED NATIONS, WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, WOMEN AND AGRICULTURE, GENDER INNOVATION LAB, AFRICA GENDER POLICY,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/105321468271487196/Caught-in-a-productivity-trap-a-distributional-perspective-on-gender-differences-in-Malawian-agriculture
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/25461
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Summary:The vast majority of households in Malawi are involved in agriculture, and improving agricultural productivity, particularly for women, who tend to attain lower yields than men, could lead to significant poverty reduction and improvements in gender equality. This study asks two main questions: (1) exactly how great are the differences in agricultural productivity between men and women in Malawi? And (2) how much of the gender gap is explained by differences in levels of agricultural inputs vs. differences in returns to these inputs? The author trace the varying constraints faced by farmers at different levels of productivity, as well as at average productivity, a level of analysis that is crucial for designing effective interventions aimed at bridging the gender gap. We find that on average, female-managed plots are 25 percent less productive than plots managed by males. Further, the gender gap widens significantly as agricultural productivity increases. More than 80 percent of the mean gender gap is explained by differences in levels of agricultural inputs, suggesting that addressing market and institutional failures underlying these differences could have direct economic benefits.

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