The Role of Women in Traditional Agriculture: Evidence From Italy

Giovanni Federico and Pablo Martinelli

No 10881, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Gender roles in the past may affect current perceptions of the 'rightful' place of women in the society, with potential major consequences on economic development. This paper explores the historical roots of gender roles by focusing on female work in agriculture, which accounted for most employment in traditional societies. We rely on a newly compiled data-set of female occupation and crop mix for Italy in the 1930s. We show that crop mix did determine the level of female gainful employment in a complex way. Some products could be classified either ?male-intensive? (like wheat and cow milk) or ?female-intensive? (like corn and beef), but quite a few were largely ?gender-neutral? (like wine and oil).

Keywords: agriculture; Gender roles; Italy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 N30 N50 O13 Q12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-hme
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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