Willingness to pay for domestic work and its determinants among women in Kwara State: Evidence from the contingent valuation approach

This study estimates the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for domestic work among women in Kwara State. The study was conducted in three local government areas in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. It was a crosssectional study with a cluster sampling using a structured questionnaire administered through the Kobo Collect tool for an average of 153 respondents per area, for a total of 460 participants. A contingent valuation approach was employed in eliciting the WTP through iterative bidding with a double-bounded dichotomous technique. Findings reveal that on average, women spend three to four hours daily on domestic work. Income, marital status, educational attainment, household size, employment status, attitude, and perceived behavioral control were the main drivers influencing the WTP. The double-bounded model estimated a much lower mean WTP than the single-bounded model, indicating a meaningful heterogeneity in household valuations for outsourcing unpaid domestic work. The predictive margins results indicated that the probability of respondents’ WTP declines steadily as the initial bid increases. The kernel density estimate of initial bid by income groups was employed to enable us to differentiate the value of unpaid domestic work between low-, middle-, and high-income households. The inequality in the valuation of unpaid work justifies targeted policies, where high-income surplus compensates low-income needs, consistent with the Kaldor-Hicks compensation principle. The study recommends that recognizing and valuing women’s unpaid domestic work is essential for achieving gender equality, inclusive growth, and sustainable development in Nigeria.