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  3. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
  4. January 2016
  5. Kwacha Gonna Do? Experimental Evidence about Labor Supply in Rural Malawi

Kwacha Gonna Do? Experimental Evidence about Labor Supply in Rural Malawi

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Abstract

I use a field experiment to estimate the wage elasticity of employment in the day labor market in rural Malawi. Once a week for 12 consecutive weeks, I make job offers for a workfare-type program to 529 adults. The daily wage varies from the tenth to the ninetieth percentile of the wage distribution, and individuals are entitled to work a maximum of one day per week. In this context (the low agricultural season), 74 percent of individuals worked at the lowest wage, and consequently the estimated labor supply elasticity is low (0.15), regardless of observable characteristics. (JEL C93, J22, J31, O15, O18, R23)

Citation

Goldberg, Jessica. 2016. "Kwacha Gonna Do? Experimental Evidence about Labor Supply in Rural Malawi." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8 (1): 129-49. DOI: 10.1257/app.20130369

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • C93 Field Experiments
  • J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
  • O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
  • R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
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