average gross value of output per hectare, our proxy for agricultural productivity, is 25% lower for the female-managed plot sample.<sup>26</sup> The gender differences in agricultural productivity are also evident in the comparison of the Kernel density estimates of the log of gross value of output per hectare for male- and female-managed plots, as displayed in Figure 2. The overwhelming majority of the differences in the average values of the observable covariates across male- vs. female-managed plots in Table 1 are statistically significant at the 1 percent level. For the purposes of the ensuing discussion, we focus on the differences that are statistically significant at least at the 5 percent level.

The incidence of manager-head of household correspondence is 99 percent for the malemanaged plot sample, while the analogous statistic is 80 percent for the female-managed plot sample. Female-managed plots are, on average, overseen by individuals that are 5 years older and have 2 less years of schooling with respect to their male-managed comparators. A significantly higher percentage of female-managed plots exhibit manager-owner correspondence (77 vs. 58 percent) and 75 percent of the female-managed plot sample are exclusively femaleowned, featuring either a sole female owner or dual female owners within the household.<sup>27</sup> The incidences of joint ownership and exclusive-male ownership stand at 4 and 3 percent, respectively, among female-managed plots. In comparison, male-managed plots are distributed more evenly across the ownership categories of exclusive-male (43 percent), exclusive-female (23 percent), and joint male-female (15 percent).

Although the average GPS-based plot area is 0.39 hectare, female-managed plots are, on average, 12 percent smaller than their male-managed counterparts. The use of inorganic fertilizer is lower on female-managed plots, whether measured by incidence, average unconditional amount per hectare, or average conditional amount per hectare. These trends may signal gender differences in FISP fertilizer voucher distribution and redemption outcomes. In fact, the IHS3 data indicates that even though female-headed households are just as likely to receive a fertilizer voucher as their male-headed counterparts, conditional on receipt, the _average number_ of fertilizer vouchers that are received among female-headed households (1.56) is lower than the analogous statistic for male-headed households (1.63), and the difference is statistically

> least one missing value among the independent variables of interest. Finally, top and bottom 1 percent of the distribution of the log of gross value of output per hectare are trimmed, corresponding to 336 plots. These exclusions leave us with the final analysis sample of 16,372 rainy season plots.

> 26 The plot-level gross value of output in Malawi Kwacha (MK) is calculated by first multiplying the kilogramequivalent quantity of production for each crop on a given plot by the median crop sales value per kilogram within the corresponding EA, and then aggregating across values of crop production. The median crop sales value per kilogram is computed within the corresponding EA only if at least 10 values are available from the survey data. Otherwise, the median crop sales value per kilogram is computed at a higher level, in the order of traditional authority, district, region, and country. Our outcome variable is computed by normalizing plot-level gross value of output with GPS-based cultivated plot area.

> 27 The overwhelming majority of the owned plots (83 percent) are acquired through inheritance. Another 12 percent is reported to have been granted by local leaders. The remaining are acquired as bride price (2 percent), purchased with title (1 percent) and purchased without title (1 percent).

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