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The Gendered Effects of Climate Change: Production Shocks and Labor Response in Agriculture
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The Gendered Effects of Climate Change: Production Shocks and Labor Response in Agriculture

Author

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  • Afridi, Farzana

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

  • Mahajan, Kanika

    (Ashoka University)

  • Sangwan, Nikita

    (Indian Statistical Institute)

Abstract

Climate change has increased rainfall uncertainty, leading to greater production risks in agriculture. We examine the gender-differentiated labor impacts of droughts resulting from lower precipitation using unique individual-level panel data for agricultural households in India over half a decade. Accounting for unobserved heterogeneity in individual responses, we find that women's workdays fall by 11% more than men's when a drought occurs, driven by former's lack of diversification to the non-farm sector. Women are less likely to work outside their village and migrate relative to men in response to droughts, and are consequently unable to cope fully with the adverse agricultural productivity shock. Our findings can be explained by social costs emanating from gender norms that constrain women's access to non-farm work opportunities. The results highlight the gendered impact of climate change, potentially exacerbating extant gender gaps in the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Afridi, Farzana & Mahajan, Kanika & Sangwan, Nikita, 2021. "The Gendered Effects of Climate Change: Production Shocks and Labor Response in Agriculture," IZA Discussion Papers 14568, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14568
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    Cited by:

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    2. Pestel, Nico & Oswald, Andrew J., 2021. "Why Do Relatively Few Economists Work on Climate Change? A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 14885, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Farzana Afridi & Monisankar Bishnu & Kanika Mahajan, 2023. "Gender and mechanization: Evidence from Indian agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(1), pages 52-75, January.
    4. Deshpande, Ashwini & Singh, Jitendra, 2021. "Dropping Out, Being Pushed Out or Can’t Get in? Decoding Declining Labour Force Participation of Indian Women," IZA Discussion Papers 14639, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Aparajita Dasgupta & Anahita Karandikar, 2021. "Gender-Gap in Learning Outcomes under Rainfall Shocks: The Role of Gender Norms," Working Papers 70, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    6. Ashwini Deshpande & Jitendra Singh, 2021. "Dropping Out, Being Pushed out or Can't Get In? Decoding Declining Labour Force Participation of Indian Women," Working Papers 65, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor; climate; drought; agriculture; gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J43 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Agricultural Labor Markets
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General

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