Male Labor Supply Compensation
RCTReview
When women gain direct control over earned income, male family members lose exclusive control over household financial resources, altering intra-household bargaining power and labor allocation decisions.
Picture this
Male labor supply compensation works like a partner stepping up to earn extra income when they can no longer unilaterally spend a spouse's earnings. When a wife takes full ownership of her paycheck, the husband can no longer count that money as part of his personal spending budget, prompting him to take on additional public sector work to restore his independent financial position.
What the evidence says
Men in the full treatment group were significantly more likely to work in the public sector, compensating for household income that had shifted under the direct control of female household members.
- Who was studied
- N = 5,851 women and their male spouses in 197 gram panchayats in Madhya Pradesh, India.
- How
- Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) examining household financial reallocation and male public sector employment response following individual female account registration and wage direct deposit.
What to do
Incorporate intra-household behavioral spillover metrics—such as shifts in male labor supply—when evaluating the net economic impacts of female financial empowerment policies.
From the source
"In line with women having greater control over household financial resources, men were also more likely to work in the public sector, suggesting that they were compensating for income now in the control of female household members."
Impact_of_Financial_Control_on_Womens_Labor_Supply_and_Gender_Norms.pdf