Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana

Many rural development programs aim at improving women’s economic empowerment in agriculture, but as rural income continues to diversify, women may prefer investing in nonfarm activities. In a framed field experiment with 1,527 participants in Ghana, we elicit preferences among both men and women fo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Kramer, Berber, Lambrecht, Isabel B.
Formato: Conference Paper
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147061
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author Kramer, Berber
Lambrecht, Isabel B.
author_browse Kramer, Berber
Lambrecht, Isabel B.
author_facet Kramer, Berber
Lambrecht, Isabel B.
author_sort Kramer, Berber
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Many rural development programs aim at improving women’s economic empowerment in agriculture, but as rural income continues to diversify, women may prefer investing in nonfarm activities. In a framed field experiment with 1,527 participants in Ghana, we elicit preferences among both men and women for investments in crop farming versus alternative income-generating activities. We analyze gender differences in preferences and whether these can be ascribed to differential access to physical and human capital, or to differences in socio-economic characteristics, skills, perceptions and norms. We find that many respondents prefer to invest in both farm and non-farm activities. Women prefer investing significantly more towards non-farm diversification than men, but the gender gap is much smaller than expected a priori. Differential access to physical and human capital does not appear to explain this gap. Rather, the gender gap is associated with gender stereotyping of perceived skills. We conclude that both men and women reveal a strong preference for a diversity of income-generating activities, which needs to be reflected in programs and policies aiming to improve women’s economic empowerment.
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spelling CGSpace1470612025-03-18T19:45:12Z Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana Kramer, Berber Lambrecht, Isabel B. income gender nonfarm income empowerment agriculture off-farm employment diversification women Many rural development programs aim at improving women’s economic empowerment in agriculture, but as rural income continues to diversify, women may prefer investing in nonfarm activities. In a framed field experiment with 1,527 participants in Ghana, we elicit preferences among both men and women for investments in crop farming versus alternative income-generating activities. We analyze gender differences in preferences and whether these can be ascribed to differential access to physical and human capital, or to differences in socio-economic characteristics, skills, perceptions and norms. We find that many respondents prefer to invest in both farm and non-farm activities. Women prefer investing significantly more towards non-farm diversification than men, but the gender gap is much smaller than expected a priori. Differential access to physical and human capital does not appear to explain this gap. Rather, the gender gap is associated with gender stereotyping of perceived skills. We conclude that both men and women reveal a strong preference for a diversity of income-generating activities, which needs to be reflected in programs and policies aiming to improve women’s economic empowerment. 2019-04-17 2024-06-21T09:10:55Z 2024-06-21T09:10:55Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147061 en Open Access Kramer, Berber; and Lambrecht, Isabel. 2019. Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana. Presented at the Future of Work in Agriculture Conference, in World Bank Main Complex - MC 2-800, Washington DC, United States, March 19-20, 2019. https://farmlabor.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk5936/files/inline-files/Berber%20Kramer%3B%20Gender%20and%20Non-Farm%20Income.pdf
spellingShingle income
gender
nonfarm income
empowerment
agriculture
off-farm employment
diversification
women
Kramer, Berber
Lambrecht, Isabel B.
Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana
title Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana
title_full Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana
title_fullStr Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana
title_short Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana
title_sort gender and preferences for non farm income diversification a framed field experiment in ghana
topic income
gender
nonfarm income
empowerment
agriculture
off-farm employment
diversification
women
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147061
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