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War and Women’s Work: Evidence from the Conflict in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Nidhiya Menon

    (Department of Economics, Brandeis University)

  • Yana van der Meulen Rodgers

    (Rutgers University)

Abstract
In a study of the effect of war on women’s work, this paper examines how Nepal’s 1996-2006 civil conflict affected women’s decisions to engage in employment. Using three waves of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, we employ a difference-in-difference approach to identify the impact of war on women’s employment decisions. Results indicate that as a result of the Maoist-led insurgency, women’s employment probabilities were substantially higher in 2001 and 2006 relative to the outbreak of war in 1996. These employment results also hold for self-employment decisions, and they hold for smaller sub-samples that condition on husband’s migration status and women’s status as widows or household heads. Robustness checks of the difference-in-difference estimates based on alternative empirical methods provide substantial evidence that women’s likelihood of employment increased as a consequence of the conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • Nidhiya Menon & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, 2010. "War and Women’s Work: Evidence from the Conflict in Nepal," Working Papers 19, Brandeis University, Department of Economics and International Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:brd:wpaper:19
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    3. Patricia Justino & Olga Shemyakina, 2012. "Remittances and labor supply in post-conflict Tajikistan," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-28, December.
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    6. Christine Valente, 2014. "Education and Civil Conflict in Nepal," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(2), pages 354-383.
    7. Manuel Fern�ndez & Ana Mar�a Ib��ez & Ximena Pe�a, 2014. "Adjusting the Labour Supply to Mitigate Violent Shocks: Evidence from Rural Colombia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(8), pages 1135-1155, August.
    8. Maren M. Michaelsen, 2012. "Mental Health and Labour Supply: Evidence from Mexico�s Ongoing Violent Conflicts," HiCN Working Papers 117, Households in Conflict Network.
    9. Joyce P. Jacobsen, 2012. "Gender and the Economic Impacts of War," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2012-008, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics.
    10. Parlow, Anton, 2012. "Armed conflict and children's health - exploring new directions: The case of Kashmir," MPRA Paper 38033, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Marc Rockmore, 2012. "Living Within Conflicts: Risk of Violence and Livelihood Portfolios," HiCN Working Papers 121, Households in Conflict Network.
    12. Christine Valente, 2011. "What Did the Maoists Ever Do for Us? Education and Marriage of Women Exposed to Civil Conflict in Nepal," HiCN Working Papers 105, Households in Conflict Network.
    13. Patricia Justino & Ivan Cardona & Rebecca Mitchell & Catherine M�ller, 2012. "Quantifying the Impact of Women�s Participation in Post-Conflict Economic Recovery," HiCN Working Papers 131, Households in Conflict Network.
    14. Parlow, Anton, 2011. "Education and armed conflict: the Kashmir insurgency in the nineties," MPRA Paper 38010, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Anton Parlow, 2012. "Armed Conflict and Children�s Health � Exploring new directions: The case of Kashmir," HiCN Working Papers 119, Households in Conflict Network.
    16. Shemyakina, Olga N., 2011. "The labor market, education and armed conflict in Tajikistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5738, The World Bank.
    17. Maren M. Michaelsen, 2012. "Mental Health and Labour Supply – Evidence from Mexico‘s Ongoing Violent Conflicts," Ruhr Economic Papers 0378, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    18. François Libois, 2016. "Households in Times of War : Adaptation Strategies during the Nepal Civil War," Working Papers 1603, University of Namur, Department of Economics.
    19. Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude & Khamis, Melanie & Yuksel, Mutlu, 2011. "Rubble Women: The Long-Term Effects of Postwar Reconstruction on Female Labor Market Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 6148, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Nidhiya Menon & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, 2013. "Credit and self-employment," Chapters, in: Deborah M. Figart & Tonia L. Warnecke (ed.), Handbook of Research on Gender and Economic Life, chapter 22, pages 359-377, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Michaelsen, Maren M., 2012. "Mental Health and Labour Supply – Evidence from Mexico's Ongoing Violent Conflicts," Ruhr Economic Papers 378, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions

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