Intrahousehold labor allocation responses to environmental good scarcity: A case study from the hills of Nepal

This study seeks to expand on the small body of research that analyzes the impact of deteriorated environmental conditions on households, particularly on the intrahousehold allocation of resources. Using data from the Nepal Energy and Nutrition Survey (NENS 1982-83), it examines the consumption of environmental products and the allocation of time across tasks and household members by rural Nepali agricultural households. This article focuses on the allocation of time to environmental good collection with the intention of rigorously determining whether, for this sample, collection time is higher when environmental products are more scarce. If this is the case, then projects that allow households to save time by increasing the availablity of environmental products (eg, forestry projects) or by allowing more efficient use of then (eg, improved stove programs) may be quite beneficial. An additional goal of this article is to determine whether thre are gender differences with regard to time reallocation, as is frequently thought. Is time in fact reallocated in a way that primarily increases the burden on women?.