Abstract
The objective of this paper is to analyze agricultural productivity and the constraints on female labor supply in Turkey using a micro-economic approach. In areas where irrigation has been introduced, farmers have discontinued animal husbandry and now specialize in crop farming. Simultaneously, female household members who worked mainly in animal husbandry stopped participating in agricultural production activities. This paper clarifies whether or not the hypothesis that Islam-specific social customs pertaining to female labor as pointed out by sociological studies impede agricultural productivity is valid. The methodologies adopted are the estimation of the quadratic production function and the comparison between the marginal productivity of family labor derived from the production function and the wage rate of hired-in labor. The result obtained is that the hypothesis cannot be supported.
