RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Labor Displacement in Agriculture: Evidence from Oil Palm Expansion in Indonesia
JF Land Economics
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 547
OP 567
DO 10.3368/le.100.3.122122-0109R1
VO 100
IS 3
A1 Kubitza, Christoph
A1 Krishna, Vijesh V.
A1 Klasen, Stephan
A1 Kopp, Thomas
A1 Nuryartono, Nunung
A1 Qaim, Matin
YR 2024
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/100/3/547.abstract
AB We analyze the labor market effects of oil palm cultivation among smallholder farmers in Indonesia. Oil palm requires less labor per unit of land than alternative crops, especially less female labor. Microlevel data and nationally representative regency-level data show that oil palm adoption, on average, led to an expansion of total cropland at the expense of forestland, resulting in higher agricultural labor demand for men. At the same time, women’s employment rates declined due to a substantial decrease in agricultural family labor, which was most evident in regions with high initial land scarcity and thus limited options for cropland expansion.