Abstract

Commercialization may disempower women if men take control of “women’s crops”. We tested this hypothesis for pigeonpea with a sample of 175 married households in Phalombe district, Southern Malawi. Commercialization did not change women’s control over decision-making for pigeonpea. An experimental game was used to identify preferences for the intra-household distribution of income at two different levels of income from pigeonpea. At both low and high levels of income women and men both preferred to pool income rather than have separate shares. The allocation of income between investment and consumption did not differ between women and men, nor when wives played independently or together with their husbands. Women were only willing to accept a higher income from pigeonpea if this increase was shared equally with their husbands. We conclude that the commercialization of pigeonpea will not disempower women. A matrilineal system of inheritance and matrilocal marriage strengthen the bargaining power of women in Southern Malawi. Context determines who wins from commercialization.

摘要

如果男性控制“女性的庄稼”，商业化可能会剥夺女性的权力。我们在马拉维南部 Phalombe 区的 175 个已婚家庭样本中检验了木豆的这一假设。商业化并没有改变女性对木豆决策的控制。一个实验游戏被用来确定在两种不同的木豆收入水平下家庭内部收入分配的偏好。在低收入和高收入水平上，女性和男性都更愿意将收入集中在一起，而不是分开分享。投资和消费之间的收入分配在女性和男性之间没有差异，在妻子独立或与丈夫一起玩时也没有差异。如果这种增加与她们的丈夫平分，女性才会愿意接受来自木豆的更高收入。我们得出的结论是，木豆的商业化不会削弱女性的权力。母系继承和母婚制加强了马拉维南部妇女的议价能力。上下文决定了谁会从商业化中获胜。