Polygamy and female labour supply in Senegal

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the links between polygyny and female labour supply in Senegal using a nationally representative survey. In a reduced-form approach, we first measure the impact of polygyny on participation using a joint model of spouse participation. The identification of the impact of polygyny relies on the use of district-level variables as instruments. We find a positive impact of polygyny on female labour force participation. Turning to a structural approach based on the collective household model, we examine the possibility that men within couples use polygyny as a threat to influence the distribution of resources in their favour. The results are less conclusive regarding the role played by the risk of polygyny as an effective distribution factor.

Socioeconomic and cultural drivers of women’s formal work in rural Ghana

“…Agadjanian and Ezeh (2000) found that women in high-polygyny areas are less likely to work outside the home compared to those in low-polygyny areas of Ghana. In contrast, Cudeville et al (2017) found that polygamy increases the hours a woman works because of sharing tasks among the women in the household. In Senegal, hours worked by women in polygamous households in urban areas are higher than those in rural areas.…”

“…Social norms and traditional social arrangements can also pose barriers to the labour market for women. In this line, we want to look at the role of polygamy (especially polygyny, where a man has multiple wives) as a determinant of FLFP because, so far, the evidence on the effect of polygamy is mixed (Agadjanian and Ezeh 2000;Cudeville et al 2017). In West Africa, polygyny is still widespread, reported to be practised by 30-50 per cent of households (Cudeville et al 2017;SWAC/OECD 2019).…”

“…In this line, we want to look at the role of polygamy (especially polygyny, where a man has multiple wives) as a determinant of FLFP because, so far, the evidence on the effect of polygamy is mixed (Agadjanian and Ezeh 2000;Cudeville et al 2017). In West Africa, polygyny is still widespread, reported to be practised by 30-50 per cent of households (Cudeville et al 2017;SWAC/OECD 2019). Societies in which the level of polygyny is high are characterized by higher gender inequality and women's dependency on husbands (Agadjanian and Ezeh 2000).…”

“…There are also a few studies on the effect of polygyny on FLFP in Africa (Agadjanian and Ezeh 2000;Cudeville et al 2017;Jacoby 1995). Theoretically, women in polygamous households should be better off under polygamy because the demand for wives is higher and, thus, the price increases (Becker 1974(Becker , 1991.…”

Supporting women's empowerment by changing intra‐household decision‐making: A mixed‐methods analysis of a field experiment in rural south‐west Tanzania

“…Another custom that can undermine women's bargaining power includes polygyny (Lawson et al, 2015), with the threat that the husband will take a second wife (Cudeville et al, 2017).…”