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American Economic Review Vol. 102 No. 7 2012

Human Capital Investment and the Gender Division of Labor in a Brawn-Based Economy

Mark M. Pitt1; Mark R. Rosenzweig2; Mohammad Nazmul Hassan3

1 Brown University, 64 Waterman Street, Providence, RI 02912. · 2 Yale University, 27 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511. · 3 Dhaka University, Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract

We use a model of human capital investment and activity choice to explain facts describing gender differentials in the levels and returns to human capital investments. These include the higher return to and level of schooling, the small effect of healthiness on wages, and the large effect of healthiness on schooling for females relative to males. The model incorporates gender differences in the level and responsiveness of brawn to nutrition in a Roy-economy setting in which activities reward skill and brawn differentially. Empirical evidence from rural Bangladesh provides support for the model and the importance of the distribution of brawn.

DOI
10.1257/aer.102.7.3531
Volume
102
Issue
7
Pages
3531-3560
Language
en
Sources
crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex

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