Female mobility in India: The influence of seclusion norms on economic outcomes

Abstract

In the Indian context, norms of female seclusion limit women's mobility in the public sphere, constraining their economic opportunities by limiting their choices of work location and their ability to interact in markets. However, women do not experience the constraints of female seclusion homogeneously. This article examines the effect of variation in mobility levels on the economic outcomes for female home-based garment producers in Ahmedabad, India, to determine if those who are more mobile are more economically successful. It does this using two-stage least squares estimation techniques to represent the endogeneity of mobility levels. The results show that for this group, mobility has no significant effect on economic outcomes, probably reflecting characteristics of the garment sector in the research site that reduce the potential returns of mobility. Regardless of this lack of significant instrumental effect, a case is made for increasing women's freedom of movement in order to prepare them to take advantage of future opportunities within the sector.

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