Koustuv Saha

Koustuv Saha

Agricultural economist specializing in issues related to international development and conservation

Publications

You can also find my articles on my Google Scholar profile.

Refereed Publications

Women’s Work and Agricultural Productivity Gaps in India

Published in American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2025

Abstract: Most studies on gender gaps in agricultural productivity leverage within-household differences between plots managed by women and men. Such a gender-based division of plot management simplifies empirical tests for productivity differences, but it is not a common arrangement outside some locations in sub-Saharan Africa. In most rural households, women and men jointly participate in production, complicating the identification of gender-based productivity differences. This study proposes a broader empirical test of productivity gaps that applies to such systems and is rooted in gender-based inequities rather than gender per se. We explore productivity gaps in rice-cultivating Indian households, where women and men perform distinct cultivation tasks. We measure productivity gaps based on the differential use of family and hired female labor across households and then compare them with gaps based on the differential use of family and hired male labor. Using plot-level data, we identify significant gender-based productivity gaps after controlling for input use and plot- and household-level characteristics, along with using village fixed effects and machine learning estimators to address selection and model misspecification concerns. We find that households using family female labor have lower agricultural productivity than those also hiring female workers, such that forgone production value is greater than the cost of hiring women. We find suggestive evidence that this gap stems from skill differences between hired and family female workers. In contrast, we find no similar gap regarding male labor use. Overall, household welfare is lower because of gender-based inequities, and highlights the potential productivity implications of expanding women’s labor choices in both on- and off-farm roles.

Recommended citation: Gulati, K., Saha, K., & Lybbert, T. J. (2025). "Women’s Work and Agricultural Productivity Gaps in India." American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Download Paper | Download Bibtex

Women’s Land Ownership and Household Decisions: Implications for Child Health in Rural India

Published in Axes of Sustainable Development and Growth in India: Essays in Honour of Professor Jyoti K. Parikh (Springer), 2023

Abstract: Women in India undertake around 80% of farm work. They are mostly engaged in farm work that is labour intensive and non-mechanized. In rural landowning households, only 16% of women own land. The absence of land ownership affects the economic empowerment of women in agriculture. An increase in women’s access to economic resources results in higher investment in human capital. Empowerment of women through land and ownership rights can improve children’s nutritional status, especially for children under-5. This study aims at understanding the effects of women’s land ownership rights on women’s empowerment and maternal and child health outcomes in rural India using NFHS-4 data. The results demonstrate a positive relationship between women’s land ownership and women’s autonomy. It is shown that joint ownership of land for women is insufficient to improve empowerment, and it is only in the case of sole ownership that women’s autonomy and decision-making powers improve. A direct positive relationship between women’s land ownership and women’s health outcome was found. However, no direct association between women’s land ownership and children’s nutritional status measured by stunting and underweight was observed.

Recommended citation: Saha, K., Pandey, V. L., & Dev, S. M. (2023). "Women’s Land Ownership and Household Decisions: Implications for Child Health in Rural India." In *Axes of Sustainable Development and Growth in India: Essays in Honour of Professor Jyoti K. Parikh*. Springer.
Download Paper | Download Bibtex