Kwacha Gonna Do? Experimental Evidence about Labor Supply in Rural Malawi

Jessica Goldberg

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 129-49

Abstract: I use a field experiment to estimate the wage elasticity of employment in the day labor market in rural Malawi. Once a week for 12 consecutive weeks, I make job offers for a workfare-type program to 529 adults. The daily wage varies from the tenth to the ninetieth percentile of the wage distribution, and individuals are entitled to work a maximum of one day per week. In this context (the low agricultural season), 74 percent of individuals worked at the lowest wage, and consequently the estimated labor supply elasticity is low (0.15), regardless of observable characteristics. (JEL C93, J22, J31, O15, O18, R23)

JEL-codes: C93 J22 J31 O15 O18 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20130369
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (42)

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