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. 2017 May:126:91-111.
doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.11.007. Epub 2016 Dec 5.

Health, Enterprise, and Labor Complementarity in the Household

Achyuta Adhvaryu  1 , Anant Nyshadham  1
Affiliations

Health, Enterprise, and Labor Complementarity in the Household

Achyuta Adhvaryu et al. J Dev Econ. 2017 May.

Abstract

We study the role of household enterprise as a coping mechanism after health shocks. Using variation in the cost of traveling to formal sector health facilities to predict recovery from acute illness in Tanzania, we show that individuals with prolonged illness switch from farm labor to enterprise activity. This response occurs along both the extensive (entry) and intensive (capital stock and labor supply) margins. Family members who are not ill exhibit exactly the same pattern of responses. Deriving a simple extension to the canonical agricultural household model, we show that our results suggest complementarities in household labor.

Keywords: enterprise; health shocks; intra-household allocation; labor supply.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Difference in Care by Rain Days (No Facility - Facility)
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