Marriage, Motherhood, and Women’s Employment in Rural India

Rahul Lahoti (), Rosa Abraham () and Hema Swaminathan ()
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Rahul Lahoti: UNU-WIDER
Rosa Abraham: Azim Premji University
Hema Swaminathan: Asian Development Bank

No 757, ADB Economics Working Paper Series from Asian Development Bank

Abstract: We investigate the impact of marriage and childbirth on women’s labor market participation in rural India. In the absence of panel data, we employ a novel approach using Life History Calendar data to analyze women’s labor market trajectories from age 15 onward. Our event study models reveal that marriage leads to a significant and sustained increase in women’s labor supply, particularly in informal agricultural work. This increase is more pronounced among women from poorer households and those with working mothers. Notably, childbirth does not negatively impact labor supply; this differs from findings in developed countries. We attribute these results to early marriage and motherhood, low levels of economic development, and prevalence of informal employment. Our research highlights the crucial role of socioeconomic context in shaping the impact of life events on women’s labor market outcomes in developing economies.

Keywords: marriage; motherhood penalty; women’s labor force participation; event studies; life history calendar (LHC) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J16 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 54 pages
Date: 2024-12-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-lab and nep-mac
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:adbewp:0757

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