Demographic Shocks and Women’s Labor Market Participation: Evidence from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in India

How did the 1918 influenza pandemic affect female labor force participation in India over the short run and the medium run? We use an event-study approach at the district level and four waves of decadal census data in order to answer this question. We find that districts most adversely affected by influenza mortality saw a temporary increase in female labor force participation in 1921, an increase that was concentrated in the service sector. We find suggestive evidence that distress labor supply by widows and rising wages help account for this result.

1918年流感大流行（1918 influenza pandemic）如何在短期与中期维度影响印度女性劳动力参与率（female labor force participation）？我们采用区级层面的事件研究法（event-study approach），结合四轮十年一次人口普查数据（decadal census data）解答该研究问题。研究结果显示，受流感死亡率负面影响最严重的地区，其女性劳动力参与率在1921年出现暂时性上升，且该增长集中于服务业。我们还获得提示性证据表明，寡妇群体的窘迫性劳动供给与工资上涨有助于解释该研究结果。