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Cornell University

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Author: Soumya Gupta

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Women’s Empowerment in Indian Agriculture: Does Market Orientation of Farming Systems Matter?

Abstract This paper studies the relationship between the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and market orientation of farm production in India. This is the first time that the WEAI has been used in an Indian agricultural context and the first time that it is...
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Adapting the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index to Specific Country Context: Insights and Critiques from Fieldwork in India

Abstract The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is a direct, multi-dimensional measure of women’s access to resources and decision-making in various domains of agriculture. However, several challenges characterize its use: adaptation of questionnaires to local agricultural contexts, modifications to index construction once underlying activities and adequacy thresholds are...
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Women’s Empowerment and Nutrition Status: The Case of Iron Deficiency in India

Abstract In this paper we study the relationship between women’s empowerment in agriculture and their iron deficiency status in Maharashtra, India. This is the first time the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) has been used in association with explicit measurement of medical biomarkers for...
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Nutritional Outcomes of Empowerment and Market Integration for Women in Rural India

Abstract Over half of all women of reproductive age are affected by anaemia in India. In this paper we study the role that both household market integration and women’s empowerment in agriculture can play in determining women’s dietary diversity. Our analysis is based on primary...
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Market Access, Production Diversity, and Diet Diversity: Evidence From India

Abstract Background: Recent literature, largely from Africa, shows mixed effects of own-production on diet diversity. However, the role of own-production, relative to markets, in influencing food consumption becomes more pronounced as market integration increases. Objective: This paper investigates the relative importance of two factors –...
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Are Women in Rural India Really Consuming a Less Diverse Diet?

Abstract Background: It is widely considered that women have less diverse diets than other household members. However, it has been challenging to establish this empirically since women’s diet diversity is measured differently from that of other household members. Objective: In this article, we compare women’s...
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Ground Truthing the Cost of Achieving the EAT Lancet Recommended Diets: Evidence from Rural India

Abstract In this paper, we quantify the divergence in the cost of current diets as compared to EAT Lancet recommendations at the subnational-level in India. We use primary data on food prices and household food purchases, and secondary data on food expenditures for a period...
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Linking women’s empowerment, iron deficiency and farming systems in Chandrapur, Maharashtra

TCi Scholar Soumya Gupta , a Ph.D. candidate in applied economics and management at Cornell University, reports about her fieldwork in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, India, where she is studying how women’s empowerment and participation in agriculture differs across…

Household lists: Check. Community outreach: Check. Recruitment: Check.

TCi Scholar Soumya Gupta, a Ph.D. candidate in applied economics and management at Cornell University, delivers an update on her fieldwork in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, India, where she is studying how women’s empowerment and participation in agriculture differs…

“No, we are not from Tata-Cornell hospital!”

TCi Scholar Soumya Gupta, a Ph.D. candidate in applied economics and management at Cornell University, delivers an update on her fieldwork in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, India, where she is studying how women’s empowerment and participation in agriculture differs…