This study tests the hypothesis, originally put forth by Ester Boserup (1970), that gender role
differences have their origins in different forms of agriculture practiced traditionally. In particular,
Boserup identifies important differences between shifting cultivation and plough cultivation.
Shifting cultivation, which uses hand-held tools like the hoe and the digging stick, is labor
intensive and women actively participate in farm-work. Plough cultivation, by contrast, is much
more capital intensive, using the plough to prepare the soil.