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. 2012 Dec;102(7):3531-3560.
doi: 10.1257/aer.102.7.3531.

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

Mark M Pitt  1 , Mark R Rosenzweig  2 , Nazmul Hassan  3
Affiliations

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

Mark M Pitt et al. Am Econ Rev. 2012 Dec.

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.

Keywords: Brawn; gender; health; schooling.

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Figures

None
Distribution of Abridged Raven's Color Matrices Test Results by Gender: Number of Correct Answers, Respondents Aged 20-49
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2. Rural Bangladesh 1981-2002: Ratio of Girls to Boys Enrolled in Rural Secondary Schools, Real Agricultural Wage Index, Fraction of Rural Population with Improved Sanitation, and Fraction of Adult Women Belonging to Micro-Credit Groups
Figure 3
Figure 3. School Attendance, by Age, Gender and Survey Year
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics. Bangladesh Educational Statistics 1987, 1991, 1997, 2003 1987, 1991, 1998, 2003
    1. Behrman JereR, Hoddinott James, Maluccio JohnA, Martorell Reynaldo. Brains versus Brawn: Labor Market Returns to Intellectual and Health Human Capital in a Poor Developing Country. Middlebury College Discussion Paper No 0907 2009
    1. Bosch AM, Willekens FJ, Baqui AH, Van Ginneken JKS, Hutter I. Association between Age at Menarche and Early-Life Nutritional Status in Rural Bangladesh. Journal of Biosocial Science. 2008;40(2):223–237. - PubMed
    1. Dougherty Christopher. Why Are the Returns to Schooling Higher for Women than for Men? The Journal of Human Resources. 2005;40(4):969–988.
    1. Field Erica, Ambrus Attila. Early Marriage, Age at Menarche and Female Schooling Attainment in Bangladesh. Journal of Political Economy. 2008;116(5):881–930.

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