Doing More, Getting Less: Women's Work and Waning Productivity in India
(2025) EKHS22 20251Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- This paper explores the trends in female labour force participation (FLFPR) in India in relation to economic growth and structural transformation from 1983–84 to 2023–24. It opts for a decomposition shift-share analysis to examine the differences in productivity for the female labour force compared to the whole labour force. The findings indicate that, despite an expansion in the female labour force in the third phase (2011-12 to 2023-24), the productivity gains for women have been significantly lower, and the female labour force has also incurred dynamic losses. Moreover, the paper uses a probit model with margins to estimate the magnitude of changes in supply-side factors influencing women's participation. Key findings affirm that... (More)
- This paper explores the trends in female labour force participation (FLFPR) in India in relation to economic growth and structural transformation from 1983–84 to 2023–24. It opts for a decomposition shift-share analysis to examine the differences in productivity for the female labour force compared to the whole labour force. The findings indicate that, despite an expansion in the female labour force in the third phase (2011-12 to 2023-24), the productivity gains for women have been significantly lower, and the female labour force has also incurred dynamic losses. Moreover, the paper uses a probit model with margins to estimate the magnitude of changes in supply-side factors influencing women's participation. Key findings affirm that marriage has a negative effect, and the presence of a working mother-in-law has a positive association of around 30 percentage points. In rural areas, there has been a notable rise in self-employment among women in recent years. Overall, the results point to the persistent barriers women face in benefiting equally from structural transformation, including social norms and limited access to progressive employment opportunities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9201173
- author
- Bhayana, Shreeya LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EKHS22 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Labour force participation, economic development, structural change, productivity, employment patterns, probit analysis, shift-share analysis, demographic factors, social factors, gender inequality.
- language
- English
- id
- 9201173
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-07 13:53:25
- date last changed
- 2026-09-07 13:53:25
@misc{9201173,
abstract = {{This paper explores the trends in female labour force participation (FLFPR) in India in relation to economic growth and structural transformation from 1983–84 to 2023–24. It opts for a decomposition shift-share analysis to examine the differences in productivity for the female labour force compared to the whole labour force. The findings indicate that, despite an expansion in the female labour force in the third phase (2011-12 to 2023-24), the productivity gains for women have been significantly lower, and the female labour force has also incurred dynamic losses. Moreover, the paper uses a probit model with margins to estimate the magnitude of changes in supply-side factors influencing women's participation. Key findings affirm that marriage has a negative effect, and the presence of a working mother-in-law has a positive association of around 30 percentage points. In rural areas, there has been a notable rise in self-employment among women in recent years. Overall, the results point to the persistent barriers women face in benefiting equally from structural transformation, including social norms and limited access to progressive employment opportunities.}},
author = {{Bhayana, Shreeya}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Doing More, Getting Less: Women's Work and Waning Productivity in India}},
year = {{2025}},
}