Adoption of Profitable Technology: Interventions for Women and Girls

Both adoption choices and welfare outcomes are consequences of household processes. The question of equilibrium cannot be avoided, as resources are allocated within the household, and tasks, responsibilities, and division of labor can potentially change. The concept of "efficient" households suggests that resources are not wasted, but this idea is compatible with bargaining, complex power dynamics, and dramatic inequality. Strong implications for adoption arise from the notion that if a technology makes the household as a whole better off, it will be used. However, this does not imply that a technology improving the productivity of a woman's activity will necessarily make her or her children better off. An example from the Gambia illustrates this point. In 1985-6, irrigation for intensified rice cultivation was introduced, a highly profitable new technology that was widely adopted. However, the rice crop shifted from being cultivated by women on their plots to being a "communal" crop under the control of men. This change led to a significant shift in the intrahousehold division of labor in agriculture, with many women expanding other export crop production and demand for labor increasing from both men and women. Overall, more resources became "communal," and the household became more centralized, with household splits seeming more common. In contrast, in Ghana, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Gambia, women often achieve much lower yields or profits on land similar to that of their husbands, which is inefficient on its face. This inefficiency is not always directly related to gender, as local politics can play a significant role, as seen in southern Ghana. Even profitable technologies may not be adopted if resources cannot be allocated efficiently within the household or if market inefficiencies, such as land tenure, enter into the household. Risk is another factor that can influence adoption, as households may be hesitant to adopt new technologies if they are uncertain about the outcomes. Economic models can help understand the relationships between household members and the adoption of profitable technologies. For example, a reduced form of the household budget can be used to analyze the allocation of resources within the household. In the case of yam cultivation in Ghana, the predicted income of male and female household members is significantly related to the division of labor and the allocation of resources within the household. The results of the F tests and overidentification restrictions suggest that the model is a good fit for the data, providing valuable insights into the relationships between household members and the adoption of profitable technologies.