Page 54 rate of their husbands. Because the woman's<sup>own wage elasticity is so much</sup> larger than the cross-elasticity associated with her husband's, the net effect of a proportionate increase in wages paid to women and men is<sup>to increase women's</sup> labor force participation more (Schultz 1989).<sup>(Measures to increase women's</sup> earning capacity may also contribute more<sup>heavily to tax revenues.) This</sup> difference in response may arise because comparatively fewer women now work in the labor force. As more women join the labor<sup>force full-time, they may behave</sup> more like men, but for now, there are good reasons<sup>to analyze men's and women's</sup> labor force behavior separately.

# Technical Change

122. Technical change may be a boon or<sup>a serious economic threat, particularly</sup> to poor women. New technology may relieve<sup>women from some of the drudgery of</sup> unpaid household chores, such as fetching water, cooking, or grinding grain (see Box). These often consume several hours daily<sup>and exact a high cost in physical</sup> energy, so modest investments in such sectors<sup>as rural water supply may save</sup> enough time to enable women to pursue other activities<sup>including</sup> productive work, childcare, training, or leisure (Carloni 1987). Many women, when asked, consider better water supplies to be their primary need.<sup>In such different countries as</sup> Kenya and Mexico, women have pressed for programs<sup>that combine provision of rural</sup> water with income earning opportunities (Kenya<sup>WID Strategy 1989; Mexico</sup> project).

123. On the other hand, new technology may also<sup>increase women's workloads or</sup> the demand for women's labor without additional compensation (see<sup>Box). Often</sup> when agriculture is partially mechanized or when<sup>cash crops with more</sup> mechanization are introduced, men typically gain access<sup>to the new, more</sup> productive technology (perhaps reflecting women's poorer<sup>access to information</sup> and credit as well as cultural traditions),<sup>and heavier requirements for</sup> complementary labor in related tasks tend to fall to women (World<sup>Bank OED 1988,</sup> 1987). When plowing (men's work) is introduced,<sup>it may become possible to</sup> increase the land under cultivation, but this requires<sup>more nonmechanized</sup> transplanting and weeding (women's work). Even<sup>if women have the additional</sup> energy and can make the time available,<sup>they may have little incentive to</sup> increase their labor if they do not directly control<sup>the income generated, and</sup> they may in fact withold some labor - - as occurred<sup>in rice production in Cameroon</sup> (Jones 1985). On the other hand, if the introduction of "men's crops" means that family income increases and men spend in ways that women approve,<sup>women may feel</sup> their own situation has improved even if they lose direct<sup>control over income</sup> in the process. And new opportunities for women may arise with the introduction of technology. If agricultural mechanization leads to greater<sup>agricultural</sup> output, for example, new jobs may be created in food packaging<sup>and processing</sup> -- some in the larger scale manufacturing sector; such as canning and freezing, but some suitable to small scale enterprise, such<sup>as drying and packaging.</sup> 124. In an increasingly mechanized workplace, women<sup>--</sup> like any poor and unskilled workers -- may also face a double disadvantage: "technological unemployment" as traditional lines of women's work are replaced<sup>by new and less</sup> labor-intensive approaches, and weaker qualifications<sup>for new kinds of work</sup> because of poorer education or training, particularly<sup>in scientific fields</sup>