Off-Farm Work and Gender Dynamics in Rural Brazil: Implications for Time Use and Household Labor Division
Keywords:
time use, off-farm work, gender division of labor, instrumental variables, dissimilarity indexMain Article Content
This paper examines the effects of off-farm work on time allocation between spouses in rural Brazilian households, with a focus on gender dynamics. Using household survey data from 2002 to 2015, we explore how off-farm employment influences the division of domestic and productive labor, employing different measures such as the dissimilarity index, time allocation ratios, and differences in hours worked. To address potential endogeneity, we use climate anomalies as instrumental variables. Our findings indicate that off-farm employment reduces gender disparities in time use, particularly when women engage in non-agricultural activities. However, in wealthier households, off-farm work may reinforce traditional divisions by outsourcing domestic labor. These results highlight the dual role of off-farm employment as both an empowerment channel and a potential reinforcement of existing inequalities. We argue that policy efforts should focus on expanding economic opportunities in rural areas while promoting a more equitable distribution of domestic work.
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