Status, Caste, and the Time Allocation of Women in Rural India

Bibliographic Data

ID4361815
AuthorsMukesh Eswaran (0000-0001-6262-2882, University of British Columbia), Bharat Ramaswami (0000-0003-4897-3103, Indian Statistical Institute), Wilima Wadhwa (Indian Statistical Institute)
Year2013
Volume61
Issue2
Pages311-333
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomic Development and Cultural Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-0079 • E-ISSN: 1539-2988
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/668282
OpenAlexW2131648638
LanguageEN
Citations received78
References cited20

We argue that women may be disinclined to participate in market work in the rural areas of India because of family status concerns in a culture that stigmatizes market work by married women. We set out a theoretical framework that offers predictions regarding the effects of caste-based status concerns on the time allocation of women. We then use the all-India National Sample Survey data for the year 2004–5 and the Time Use Survey for six states of India for the year 1998–99 to empirically test these hypotheses. After controlling for a host of correlates, we find that the ratio of women’s market work to men’s declines as we move up the caste hierarchy. This ratio falls as family wealth rises, and the decline is steeper for the higher castes. Finally, the effect on women’s market work of higher education is weaker for the higher castes. These findings lend support to our theory and to the view that, through its emphasis on family status, caste plays a pivotal role in undermining the autonomy of women. Our article has implications for how culture impinges on the rate at which poverty in developing countries can be reduced

Autonomy · Caste · Demographic economics · Developing country · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Hierarchy · Political science · Poverty · Social science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Survey data collection · Time allocation · Work (physics) · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare

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