Comparative Advantage, Information and the Allocation of Workers to Tasks: Evidence from an Agricultural Labour Market
利用农业劳动力市场数据，研究比较优势和信息问题如何决定工人任务分配，发现女性在除草工作中的比例过高源于比较优势和统计歧视，而非偏好。
We use data from an agricultural labour market in which workers receive both time- and piece-rate wages and shift frequently among employers and tasks, to assess the roles of comparative advantage, information problems and preferences in determining the allocation of workers. The estimates which impose minimal structure not implied by economic theory are consistent with a one-factor productivity model, and indicate that information asymmetries are present but workers are sorted according to comparative advantage. In particular, the disproportionate presence of female workers in weeding activities is due not to worker or employer preferences but to comparative advantage and statistical discrimination.