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Abstract
Agricultural technologies (new cultivars, inorganic fertilizers, soil- and water-conservation techniques) in Sub-Saharan Africa
have been primarily introduced to male farmers by male-dominated extension services on the family plots. These yieldincreasing,
input-intensive technologies increase the demand for farm labor. So, not only do men obtain most of the direct
benefits from the introduction of technology but this labor-intensive technology also increases the demands on women's time
for additional labor. This raises the question: Are the combined effects of agricultural technologies beneficial or detrimental to
women? We first develop a labor-market model that examines the impact of agricultural and household technologies on labor
allocation and income determination within the household. We then discuss the important issue of how household laborallocation
decisions and division of income are made within the family in Sub-Saharan Africa. We use a programming model
to estimate the effects of these technologies on household incomes and the income of women. The results indicate that the
impact of agricultural technologies depends on the type of decision-making prevailing in the household. In contrast, household
technologies increase the welfare of women regardless of the type of decision-making. However, with bargaining behavior,
agricultural technologies do benefit women and there is some empirical support for this type of household behavior in SubSaharan
African households. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.