Empirical Analysis of Time Allocation Among Farm Women in Taiwan

In contrast to the analysis of female labor supply on the general population, to examine time allocation among farm women is complicated. This is because time spent on off-farm work, on-farm work, and unpaid housework of farm women have to be considered jointly. This study contributes to this research issue by focusing on time allocation problem between on/off farm work, and unpaid housework of farm women in Taiwan. Using a national representative sample of farm women, we estimate a multivariate probit model to examine the extent to which socio-demographic characteristics, family condition, geographical heterogeneity are associated with the time allocation in each of the activity of farm women. Results indicate that human capital is an important factor for time allocation. Farm women who have higher education spent less time on-farm work and unpaid housework. In contrast, they spent more time on off-farm job market.