The Impact of Development, the Commercialization of Agriculture, and Economic Dependency on Women’s Participation in Agricultural Production
Author(s)
Vanfossen, Beth; Rothstein, Frances
Abstract
This article explores how agricultural export orientation, dependency, and economic development have impacted women’s participation in the agricultural labor force. Theories of gender inequality, modernization, dependency, and women and development are appraised. Hypotheses that a curvilinear relationship exists between level of development and women’s labor force participation and distribution, a negative relationship between women’s share of the labor force in less-developed counties and the commercialization of agriculture, and a link between economic dependency and women’s share of the agricultural labor force in these countries are tested via panel regression analyses of 92 nations. It is found that development does not lead to the increased participation of women in the labor force, but there is a curvilinear relationship between women’s formal labor force involvement and development.
