The disparities in cross-country labour productivity are greater in agriculture than in other industries. This study proposes that the misallocation of female talent across sectors distorts productivity. The author formalizes the theory by using a general equilibrium Roy model with gender-specific frictions. If female workers experience higher frictions in non-agricultural sectors, then female workers who are better skilled at non-agricultural jobs may select into agricultural sector. From a sample of 66 countries, the study finds that low-income countries have higher frictions in non-agricultural industries. By setting frictions to US levels, agricultural labour productivity increases by 4.3-7.6 percent, non-agricultural labour productivity decreases by 0.7-1.4 percent, and GDP per capita increases by 0.8-1.5 percent.
STEG Working Paper Series
Allocation of Female Talent and Cross-Country Productivity Differences
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