Maria Sagrario Floro

Economic restructuring, gender and the allocation of time

Abstract A significant aspect of economic life takes place in an area of production largely ignored in standard macroeconomic analysis, namely, the household production of nonmarketed goods and services. These household-produced goods and services are vital for social reproduction and human development. Moreover, there is a dynamic interaction between their production and that of the market economy as household members, especially women, must allocate their time between the two sets of economic activities. Section 2 provides some stylized facts about the nature and scope of nonmarket activities taking place within the household unit and how they relate to the market economy. Methodological issues concerning the measurement of the production of nonmarketed goods and services and of time-use patterns are discussed in section 3. Sections 4 and 5 examine the empirical evidence regarding the intensity of time devoted to nonmarket and market work by women, and the resulting consequences on their well-being as well as on the development of children. There are longterm serious economic and welfare consequences of these responses that make such a topic an urgent one for both academics and policy makers alike. A summary of the major points raised concludes the paper.

Women's well-being, poverty, and work intensity

High work intensity, as a result of doing two tasks at a time, is an important dimension of well-being. For many poor, working women, it represents a necessary means of coping when real wages fall, prices rise and basic services are cut. And yet existing standard-of-living measurements and household economic models fail to address this important dimension of time use. This paper argues that the lack of consideration of the length and intensification of work time is a serious neglect in the study of womens well-being.The first section of the paper examines the importance of time use as a determinant of the quality of life, particularly for working women. It also explores the relationship between poverty and work intensity or the simultaneous performance of two or more tasks. The theoretical implications of work intensity on household models are discussed in the second section of the paper. A household well-being function that incorporates both goods and time-use components as arguments is introduced in a single (working)-person household framework. When time use, particularly work intensity, is taken into account, the notion of joint production becomes relevant and subsequent complications arise. Finally, the need for reassessment of present time-use survey methods and of current policy evaluations is discussed in the concluding section of the paper. The seriousness of the effects of work intensity, particularly on womens health and childrens well-being, strongly suggests that this qualitative dimension of time use deserves urgent attention from scholars and policy-makers.

Vertical Links between Formal and Informal Financial Institutions

The paper investigates vertical linkages between formal and informal financial institutions. Specifically, it studies a policy that expands formal credit to informal lenders, in the hope that this will improve loan terms for borrowers who are shut out of the formal sector. Special attention is paid to the Philippines. It is argued that the effects of stronger vertical links depend on the form of lender competition. In particular, if the relationship between lenders is one of strategic cooperation (sustained by threats of reprisal in a repeated setting), an expansion of formal credit may worsen the terms faced by informal borrowers.

Does Gender have any Effect on Aggregate Saving? An empirical analysis

This study investigates the effects of gender on aggregate saving. We test the hypothesis that shifts in womens relative income, which can affect their bargaining power within the household, have a discernible impact on household saving and, by extension, gross domestic saving, due to differing saving propensities by gender. The empirical analysis is based on panel data for a set of semi-industrialised economies, covering the period 1975-95. The results indicate that, as some measures of womens relative income and bargaining power increase, gross domestic saving rates rise. The implied gender disparity in saving propensities may be linked to differences in saving motives based on gender roles, and well as divergent experiences of economic vulnerability. These findings suggest the importance of understanding gender differences in planning for savings mobilisation and in the formulation of financial and investment policies.

Asset Ownership along Gender Lines: Evidence from Thailand

Gender differences have long been documented in earnings, employment opportunities, and time spent within the unpaid care economy. This paper joins the recent efforts in the economics literature on gender differences in asset ownership. Specifically, it investigates whether a gender-specific composition in asset ownership between heads of households and spouses can be detected among low-income, urban households in Bangkok, Thailand. The present case study explores this issue empirically, using a sample of 134 couples from a 2002 survey that collected data at the level of the individual respondent on accumulated physical and financial assets. Both husband and wife were interviewed separately and the data gathered from the interviews include pertinent household and individual information on employment, credit and household decision-making issues. The findings suggest that asset composition varies by gender, indicating that further investigation is warranted on this topic. Tobit and Probit tests are used to examine the factors that may affect this gendered pattern.

Financial Crisis, Gender, and Power: An Analytical Framework

This paper begins to remedy the neglect of gender aspects of financial crises by exploring a suggestive microfoundational model of unequal gender power and cost-bearing in a borrower household. This model shows that financial-market liberalization can assess womens access to formal sector employment and encourage the growth of household credit, both for a household enterprise and for the acquisition of labor-saving household assets. The price of these gains, however, is greater household risk because of greater cash-flow dependence and financial fragility. A financial crisis can force the household to bear heavier adjustment costs than would otherwise be felt; and these costs may well be borne disproportionately by women, who become more economically vulnerable as a result.

Gender, Work Intensity, and Well-Being of Thai Home-Based Workers

Abstract The contribution explores the time-use dimensions of the individual well-being of home-based workers in Thailands urban squatter communities to demonstrate how time-use patterns provide information regarding individual experiences in performing economic activities that affect quality of life. The study focuses on two groups of home-based workers: the self-employed, and those who work for a contractor. Using an individual-level well-being index that takes into account income, the capabilities related to education, and work intensity, the authors examine by OLS and GME techniques the varied factors that affect the well-being of home-based workers. The findings show that women workers experience a higher incidence of work intensity and hence lower quality of life compared with men. A better understanding of the factors that promote or lower well-being can help policy-makers design more effective programs and economic and social policies.

Assessing the Effect of Microfinance on Vulnerability and Poverty among Low Income Households

Abstract We empirically investigate whether participation in the Indian Self Help Group (SHG) microfinance programme has helped reduced poverty and household vulnerability using cross-sectional SHG rural household survey data. The potential selection bias is eliminated by propensity score matching to estimate the average treatment on treated effect using nearest neighbour matching and a local linear regression algorithm. We find that vulnerability in SHG members is not significantly higher than in non-SHG members, even though the SHG members have a high incidence of poverty. However, vulnerability declines significantly for those that have been SHG members for more than one year. These results are found to be robust using sensitivity analysis and the Rosenbaum bounds method.

Gender and Work in South Africa: What Can Time-Use Data Reveal?

Abstract Using data from the 2000 South Africa National Time Use Survey, this study argues that a gender-aware understanding of mens and womens time use can help complement information on productive work missed in labor force surveys. Further, time-use information on job searches and household work provides insights into the interconnectedness of gender inequalities in the labor market and the household. An analysis of the time-use patterns of 10,465 working-age women and men in South Africa shows that a nontrivial proportion classified as either “not in the labor force” or “unemployed” actually engaged in subsistence, temporary, and casual forms of employment. This study finds that while womens and mens hours of unpaid work do not vary greatly across employment status, these obligations affect womens employment options andtheir ability to look for paid work. Time-use data help identify the salient characteristics of these individuals and the nature of their occupations.

Labour Market Informalization, Gender and Social Protection: Reflections on Poor Urban Households in Bolivia and Ecuador

This chapter is an attempt to understand the ways in which poor urban households in developing countries cope with the nature and depth of current labour market informalization, poverty and economic insecurity. It explores the dynamics of informality and its distributional aspects, and it demonstrates how job precariousness and vulnerability are interconnected as well as the importance of their gender dimensions. The paper is based on a study of poor urban house-holds in Bolivia and Ecuador, using sample surveys carried out in 2002.1 We focus mainly on three areas of inquiry: the evolving informal economy and its implications in the way households organize their lives; gender roles and gender relations; and the precariousness of work and lack of social protection.