scholarly journals Earned and unearned income: Experimental evidence on expenditures and labor supply in Malawi

2021 ◽  
Vol 187 ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
Kate Ambler ◽  
Susan Godlonton
Keyword(s):  
Labor Supply ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Unearned Income

scholarly journals Kwacha Gonna Do? Experimental Evidence about Labor Supply in Rural Malawi

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Wage Elasticity ◽  
Supply Elasticity ◽  
Labor Supply Elasticity ◽  
Job Offers ◽  
Daily Wage

I use a field experiment to estimate the wage elasticity of employment in the day labor market in rural Malawi. Once a week for 12 consecutive weeks, I make job offers for a workfare-type program to 529 adults. The daily wage varies from the tenth to the ninetieth percentile of the wage distribution, and individuals are entitled to work a maximum of one day per week. In this context (the low agricultural season), 74 percent of individuals worked at the lowest wage, and consequently the estimated labor supply elasticity is low (0.15), regardless of observable characteristics. (JEL C93, J22, J31, O15, O18, R23)

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