ABSTRACT
To test this hypothesis of differing supply behavior, OLS, OLS-IV, and TOBITIV estimates of labor supply are derived using household level micro data from Bangladesh, relating to landholding, landless and near-landless workers from three villages with different economic standards. The results strongly support the hypothesis, indicating that the supply function of workers with little or no land is significantly different from that of the landholding workers, in that the former displays a forward falling shape with an upward rising segment at higher wages, and the latter an upward sloping curve, which bends backward at higher wages. Moreover, the findings imply that, in the former group, workers supply a larger quantity of labor relative to the latter. OLS and PROBIT estimates of labor force participation by women also provide evidence of differences in participation behavior across landholding status, consistent with the differences in their supply behavior. Furthermore, the estimates provide some evidence of differing supply behavior across villages.
