Desai, Sonalde2020-07-062020-07-062018-10http://hdl.handle.net/10625/59137Using survey data collected before and after the enactment of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA, 2005) program, the paper examines changes in women’s participation in paid work and total earnings by using a difference-in-difference approach. The results suggest that women living in villages with a higher availability of MGNREGA work are more likely to participate in wage labor and have higher total wage incomes. These effects are absent for men, possibly because they have greater alternative opportunities. Responding to women’s needs by expanding work opportunities is likely to mobilize more women to enter the workforce, thereby increasing their wage incomes.application/pdfenRURAL WOMENWOMEN WORKERSEMPLOYMENT POLICYINCLUSIONWOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTRURAL DEVELOPMENTINDIASOUTH ASIAJournal Article