Gender Norms and the Adoption of the Plow

In fact, the economic analysis of fashion often falls into a broader subfield of economics called cultural economics, which looks at the relationship between culture and economic outcomes. Since culture is notoriously difficult to define, cultural economists ended up studying everything from fashion and media to technology and institutions to social norms and values like trust and competitiveness.

For instance, one of the most surprising findings in this field came from a study which found that modern gender norms might have been influenced by the adoption of the plow. Plows are heavy and require much more strength to use than other early farming instruments like hoes and digging sticks. So, in societies that used the plow, men had a natural advantage in farmwork. This contributed to a gendered division of labor – men started disproportionately working in the fields while women worked in the home. And this division of labor in turn influenced beliefs about the appropriate roles of men and women in society.

By contrast, this didn’t happen as much in societies which didn’t adopt the plow. Men had no natural advantage in using other farming tools, so everyone there was involved in farmwork. There was no reason to think of work outside the home as “men’s work”, so gender norms regarding work developed differently too. Amazingly, economists found that these historical differences affect gender norms to this day. It turns out that societies that did not adopt the plow still have higher gender equality and higher female labor force participation!

What can we learn from millions of high school yearbook photos?

September 3, 2024, Planet Money 

By Sofia Shchukina