ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the total time allocated by households to different tasks and how this differs among households. It explores the implications of the findings for the prevailing views of the rural economy that one finds in the development literature. The chapter examines whether the findings affect the policy conclusions that are drawn from dualistic models of development. It outlines how the gender division of labour is affected by differences in income amongst households. An increase in income arising from an increase in the wage or in output per worker in the case of a household enterprise has an ambiguous effect on the number of hours worked. Market time includes all income earning activities including the time spent on farming in mixed and cash crop farms. In poor countries such as Kenya the cost of many technologies that reduce time in domestic work is prohibitive. The chapter examines the relationship between gender and the distribution of income.
