Determinants of women’s labour force participation and wages in the agricultural sector: Evidence from Anuradhapura District

Abstract

The main objectives of the study are to examine how the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics influence women’s participation in the agricultural sector and how these factors determine the wages in the sector in Anuradhapura district. Cross-sectional data were collected from 3 villages in the Talawa Divisional Secretariat in the district, and from these villages, 175 rural women were selected randomly in 2022. Results of frequency showed that 66% of the women participated in the agricultural sector, and 34% of them did not participate. The Heckman selection model was applied in two stages, and in the first stage, the Probit regression model was used to identify the impact of demographic and socio-economic characteristics on women’s labour supply. In the second stage, the ordinary least square method was applied to identify the factors influencing wages in the agriculture sector in the study. Determinants of women’s labour supply in the Probit model found to be age, age squared, credit accessibility, opportunity of getting another job, level of education, and other income sources, while the number of children and husband’s occupation were found to be insignificant as a determinant of women’s labour force participation in the model. Results of the ordinary least square method suggested that education, farm experience, and experience squared were significantly influencing the wage in the agricultural sector in the district