Gendered food security in rural Malawi: why is women’s food security status lower?

Food Security

Volumn 7, Issue 6, 2015, Pages 1299-1320

  Kassie, Menale ^a   Stage, Jesper ^b   Teklewold, Hailemariam ^c   Erenstein, Olaf ^d  

^a INTERNATIONAL MAIZE AND WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER CIMMYT   (Kenya)

^b LULEÅ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Sweden)

^c Environmental Economics Policy Forum in Ethiopia (EEPFE)   (Ethiopia)

^d INTERNATIONAL MAIZE AND WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER CIMMYT   (Mexico)

Author keywords

Food security; Gender gap; Malawi; Switching regression

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE; FEMALE HEADED HOUSEHOLD; FOOD SECURITY; GENDER DISPARITY; NUMERICAL MODEL; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; RESOURCE USE; RURAL AREA; WOMENS STATUS;

MALAWI;

EID: 84946762791     PISSN: 18764517     EISSN: 18764525     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s12571-015-0517-y     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. Angner, E. (2010). Subjective well-being. Journal of Socioeconomics, 39, 361–368.
2. Asfaw, S., Lipper, L., Dalton, T. J., & Audi, P. (2012). Market participation, on-farm crop diversity and household welfare: micro-evidence from Kenya. Environment and Development Economics, 1(1), 1–23.
3. Babatunde, R. O., & Qaim, M. (2010). Impact of off-farm income on food security and nutrition in Nigeria. Food Policy, 35(4), 303–311.
4. Babatunde, R. O., Omotesho, O. A., Olorunsanya, E. O., & Owotoki, G. M. (2008). Determinants of vulnerability to food insecurity: a gender based analysis of farming households in Nigeria. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economic, 63, 116–125.
5. Babu, S., Gajanan, S. N., & Sanyal, P. (2014). Food security, poverty and nutrition policy analysis: Statistical methods and applications (2nd ed.). Atlanta: Elsevier Inc.
6. Bauer, T. K., & Sinning, M. (2008). An extension of the blinder–oaxaca decomposition to nonlinear models. Advances in Statistical Analysis, 92, 197–206.
7. Behrman, J. A., Meinzen-Dick, R., & Quisumbing, A. R. (2014). Understanding gender and culture in agriculture: The role of qualitative and quantitative approaches. In A. R. Quisumbing, R. Meinzen-Dick, T. L. Raney, A. Croppenstedt, J. A. Behrman, & A. Peterman (Eds.), Gender in agriculture: Closing the knowledge gap (pp. 31–54). Dordrecht: Springer.
8. Chamberlin, J., & Jayne, T. S. (2013). Unpacking the meaning of ‘market Access’: evidence from rural Kenya. World Development, 41, 245–264.
9. Chinsinga, B. (2012). The political economy of agricultural policy processes in Malawi: A case study of the fertilizer subsidy programme. Future Agricultures Consortium Working Paper 39. http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Futureagriculture/FAC_Working_ Paper_039.pdf. Accessed October 2014.
10. Chipande, G. H. R. (1987). Innovation adoption among female-headed households: the case of Malawi. Development and Change, 18(2), 315–327.
11. Chiwona-Karltun, L., Katundu, C., Ngoma, J., Chipungu, F., Mkumbira, J., Simukoko, S., & Jiggins, J. (2002). Bitter cassava and women: an intriguing response to food security. LEISA Magazine, 18(4), 14–15.
12. Deaton, A. (2010). Price indices, inequality, and the measurement of world poverty. Atlanta: Presidential Address, American Economic Association.
13. Dolan, C. S. (2004). I sell my labour now: gender and livelihood diversification in Uganda. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 25(4), 643–661.
14. Doss, C. R. (2001). Designing agricultural technology for African women farmers: lessons from 25 years of experience. World Development, 29(12), 2075–2092.
15. Due, J. M., & Gladwin, C. H. (1991). Impacts of structural adjustment programs on African women farmers and female-headed households. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 73, 1431–1439.
16. Ellis, F. (1998). Household strategies and rural livelihood diversification. Journal of Development Studies, 35, 1–38.
17. Eswaran, M. (2014). Why gender matters in Economics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
18. FAO/Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. (2011). Gender inequalities in rural employment in Malawi: An overview. Rome: FAO.
19. FAO/Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. (2012). Good practices in building innovative rural institutions to increase food security. Case studies. Rome: FAO. http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/ap209e/ap209e.pdf. Accessed April 2014.
20. Feleke, S. T., Kilmer, E. L., & Gladwin, C. H. (2005). Determinants of food security in southern Ethiopia at household level. Agricultural Economics Journal, 33, 351–363.
21. Fortin, N., Lemieux, T., & Firpo, S. (2011). Decomposition methods in economics. Handbook of Labour Economics, 4, 1–102.
22. Foster, A. D., & Rosenzweig, M. R. (2001). Imperfect commitment, altruism, and the family: evidence from transfer behavior in low-income rural areas. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(3), 389–407.
23. Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2), 402–435.
24. Gilbert, R. A., Sakala, W. D., & Benson, T. D. (2002). Gender analysis of a nationwide cropping system trial survey in Malawi. African Studies Quarterly, 6(1–2), 223–243.
25. Heckman, J. J., Tobias, J. L., & Vytlacil, E. J. (2001). Four parameters of interest in the evaluation of social programs. Southern Economic Journal, 68, 210–233.
26. Hoddinott, J., & Haddad, L. (1995). Does female income share influence household expenditures? Evidence from Cote d’Ivoire. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 57(1), 77–96.
27. Iram, U., & Butt, M. S. (2004). Determinants of household food security: an empirical analysis for Pakistan. International Journal of Social Economics, 31(8), 753–766.
28. IRIN/Integrated Regional Information Networks. (2006). Southern Africa: Female headed households most vulnerable to food insecurity. http://www.irinnews.org/report/37270/southern-africa-female-headed-households-most-vulnerable-to-food-insecurity. Accessed November, 2015.
29. Jann, B. (2008). The blinder-Oaxaca decomposition for linear regression models. The Stata Journal, 8(4), 453–479.
30. Kahneman, D., & Krueger, A. B. (2006). Developments in the measurement of subjective well-being. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(1), 3–24.
31. Kassie, M., Ndiritu, S. W., & Stage, J. (2014). What determines gender inequality in household food security in Kenya? Application of exogenous switching treatment regression. World Development, 56, 153–171.
32. Kassie, M., Hailemariam, T., Moti, J., Marenya, P., & Erenstein, O. (2015a). Understanding the adoption of a portfolio of sustainable intensification practices in eastern and southern Africa. Land Use Policy, 42, 400–411.
33. Kassie, M., Teklewold, H., Marenya, P., Jaleta, M., & Erenstein, O. (2015b). Production risk and food security under alternative technology choices in Malawi. Application of a multinomial endogenous switching regression. Journal of Agricultural Economics. doi:10.1111/1477–9552.12099.
34. Kennedy, E., & Peters, P. (1992). Household food security and child nutrition: the interaction of income and gender of household head. World Development, 20(8), 1077–1085.
35. La Ferrara, E. (2003). Kin groups and reciprocity: a model of credit transaction in Ghana. The American Economic Review, 93(5), 1730–1751.
36. Mallick, D., & Rafi, M. (2010). Are female-headed households more food insecure? Evidence from Bangladesh. World Development, 38, 593–605.
37. Mark, B., Sudharshan, C., Stephan, K., & David, L. (2006). Gender and growth in sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and evidence. Research Paper, UNU-WIDER, United Nations University (UNU), No. 2006/37. ISBN 9291908053.
38. Martin, K. S., Rogers, B. L., Cook, J. T., & Joseph, H. M. (2004). Social capital is associated with decreased risk of hunger. Social Science & Medicine, 58, 2645–2654.
39. Mearns, R., & Norton, A. (2010). Social dimensions of climate change: Equity and vulnerability in a warming world. Washington, DC: World Bank.
40. Meinzen-Dick, R., Johnson, N., Quisumbing, A. R., Njuki, J., Behrman, J. A., Rubin, D., Peterman, A., & Waithanji, E. (2014). The gender asset gap and its implications for agricultural and rural development. In A. R. Quisumbing, R. Meinzen-Dick, T. L. Raney, A. Croppenstedt, J. A. Behrman, & A. Peterman (Eds.), Gender in agriculture: Closing the knowledge gap (pp. 91–115). Dordrecht: Springer.
41. Meinzen-Dick, R., Quisumbing, A., Behrman, J., Biermayr-Jenzano, P., Wilde, V., Noordeloos, M., Ragasa, C., & Beintema, N. (2011). Engendering agricultural research, development and extension (IFPRI Research Monograph). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
42. Minot, N., Kherallah, M., & Berry, P. (2000). Fertilizer market reform and the determinants of fertilizer use in Benin and Malawi (MSSD Discussion Paper 40). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
43. Mkwara, B., & Marsh, D. (2011). Effects of maize fertilizer subsidies on food security in Malawi (Department of Economics Working Paper Series, Number 14/11). Hamilton: University of Waikato.
44. Onjala, J., Ndiritu, S. W., & Stage, J. (2014). Risk perception, choice of drinking water and water treatment: evidence from Kenyan towns. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 4(2), 268–280.
45. Peterman, A., Quisumbing, A. R., Behrman, J., & Nkonya, E. (2011). Understanding the complexities surrounding gender differences in agricultural productivity in Nigeria and Uganda. Journal of Development Studies, 47(10), 1482–1509.
46. Peters, P. E. (1995). Uses and abuses of the concept of ‘female-headed households’ in research on agrarian transformation and policy. In D. F. Bryceson (Ed.), Women wielding the hoe: Lessons from rural Africa for feminist theory and development practice (pp. 93–108). Oxford: Berg.
47. Peters, P. E. (1997). Against the odds: matriliny, land and gender in the shire highlands of Malawi. Critique of Anthropology, 17(2), 189–210.
48. Quisumbing, A. R. (1995). Gender differences in agricultural productivity: Survey of empirical evidence (FCND Discussion Paper No. 5). Washington, DC: Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute.
49. Quisumbing, A. (2003). Food aid and child nutrition in rural Ethiopia. World Development, 7, 1309–1324.
50. Quinsumbing, A. R., & Maluccio, J. A. (2003). Resources at marriage and intrahousehold allocation: evidence from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 65(3), 283–327.
51. Quisumbing, A. R., Meinzen-Dick, R., Raney, T. L., Croppenstedt, A., Behrman, J. A., & Peterman, A. (Eds.). (2014). Gender in agriculture: Closing the knowledge gap. Dordrecht: Springer.
52. Ragasa, C. (2014). Improving gender responsiveness of agricultural extension. In A. R. Quisumbing, R. Meinzen-Dick, T. L. Raney, A. Croppenstedt, J. A. Behrman, & A. Peterman (Eds.), Gender in agriculture: Closing the knowledge gap (pp. 411–430). Dordrecht: Springer.
53. Ravallion, M., & Lokshin, M. (2002). Self-rated economic welfare in Russia. European Economics Review, 46(8), 1453–1473.
54. Santiago, B., & Pedro, T.-P. (2009). Subjective assessment on vocational training activities. A generalized ordered probit approach. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 1(2), 123–144.
55. Sinning, M., Hahn, M., & Bauer, T. K. (2008). The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition for nonlinear regression models. The Stata Journal, 8(4), 480–492.
56. Stutzer, A. S., & Frey, B. S. (2010). Recent advances in the economics of individual subjective well-being. IZA DP No. 4850. Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA). https://wwz.unibas.ch/fileadmin/wwz/redaktion/wipo/Alois_Stutzer/Stutzer_Frey_2010.pdf.
57. Sun, S., An, H., & Marcoul, P. (2014). Food gifting, kinship networks and household food security. Paper presented at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s 2014 Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, USA, 27–29 July 2014.
58. Takane, T. (2008). Customary land tenure, inheritance rules and smallholder farmers in Malawi. Journal of Southern African Studies, 34(2), 269–291.
59. Takane, T. (2009). Disparities and diversities among female-headed households in rural Malawi after 20 years of economic liberalization. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 30, 358–372.
60. Teklewold, H., Kassie, M., & Shiferaw, B. (2013a). Adoption of multiple sustainable agricultural practices in rural Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 64(3), 597–623.
61. Teklewold, H., Kassie, M., Bekele, S., & Kholin, G. (2013b). Cropping systems diversification, conservation tillage and modern seed adoption in Ethiopia: impacts on household income, agrochemical use and demand for labor. Ecological Economics, 93, 85–93.
62. The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2012). Global Food Security Index 2012. http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/: Economist Intelligence Unit. Accessed on July 2015.
63. Van Hoorn, A., Mabsout, R., & Sent, E.-M. (2010). Happiness and capability: introduction to the symposium. Journal of Socio-Economics, 39, 339–343.
64. Van Praag, B. M. S., Frijters, P., & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2003). The anatomy of subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 51(1), 29–49.
65. Wollni, M., Lee, D. R., & Janice, L. T. (2010). Conservation agriculture, organic marketing, and collective action in the Honduran hillsides. Agricultural Economics, 41, 373–384.
66. World Bank. (2000). Can Africa claim the 21st Century? (Report prepared jointly by the African Development Bank, African Economic Research Consortium, Global Coalition for Africa, Economic Commission for Africa, and the World Bank). Washington, DC: World Bank.
67. World Bank. (2001). Engendering development: Through gender equality in rights, resources, and voice – A World Bank Policy Research Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.
68. World Bank. (2012). World development report: Gender equality and development. Washington, DC: World Bank.
69. World Bank and The One Campaign. (2013). Levelling the field: Improving opportunities for women farmers in Africa. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/17790/860390WP0WB0ON0osure0date0March0180.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed November 2014.
70. Yu, L., Hurley, T., Kliebenstein, J., & Orazem, P. (2012). A test for complementarities among multiple technologies that avoids the curse of dimensionality. Economic Literature, 116, 354–357.