In male dominated societies like Kenya, men's superior status leading to power over women and control of valued resources, is supported by laws and policies that spell out and legitimise men's privileged and dominant status and is justified by religious, traditional, moral, and/or...

Income inequality has increased sharply in higher income countries. Theories attributing this to bifurcation of labor markets are examined. Some theorists attribute this bifurcation primarily to technical change with influence from globalization. Others take an opposite viewpoint. A contrasting...

Indicators of gender inequality, poverty and human development in Kenya are examined. Significant and rising incidence of absolute poverty occurs in Kenya and women are more likely to be in poverty than men. Female/male ratios in Kenyan decision-making institutions are highly skewed against...

Shows how economic theories based on parental self-interest may explain parental discrimination against daughters relative to sons. However, such theories often need to be adjusted (or even discarded) to allow for altruism of parents towards their children, and to take account of cultural...

Reports on results of a survey, completed in 2000, of wives in three villages in the Phulbani district, Orissa, India. These villages are dominated by the Kondh scheduled tribe but some also contain members of the scheduled caste, called Dombs in Orissa. The article reports on the total...

Survey data on which this paper is based were collected in a rural district in Kenya between December 2000 and January 2001. The main objective was to identify the factors that determine female participation in household decision-making. Our results suggest that bargaining models and resource...

This paper uses data collected from migrant's wives in the Nyeri district of Kenya. The main objective is to determine whether migration and remittances contribute to the development of agriculture. Our results suggest that most migrants are pushed out of rural areas, belong to the group of...

This article examines the effects of commercialisation of agriculture on land use and work patterns by means of a case study in the Nyeri district in Kenya. The study uses cross sectional data collected from small-scale farmers in this district. We find that good quality land is allocated to...

Assesses the status of women in Bangladesh by analysing the dynamics of female participation in labour force and education as well as gender earnings differentials at the macro level. The study finds evidence of growing commercialisation of women’s work in Bangladesh. Although the bulk of the...

Notes the unfavourable female-male ratio in India and its declining trend. In addition, the convergence of this ratio for the scheduled castes towards that of the general casts is noted as well as the slight decline in this ratio for scheduled tribals. A reason for this trend is suggested....