As part of Columbia University's Fall 2026 Development Workshop, Girija Borker will present "Cuisine" at the Development Seminar.
Abstract:
We study how cuisines develop, persist, and shape economic life. Using nearly 70,000 recipes from 138 countries, we construct a novel global dataset of cuisine characteristics, ingredients, and preparation methods. We document how geography and history shape cuisines: local environmental conditions influence ingredient availability and cooking techniques, while trade and migration drive the diffusion of ingredients and culinary practices. We then examine the economic consequences of cuisine complexity, measured through cooking time, ingredient diversity, preparation intensity, and spice use. We develop a household time-allocation model in which cuisine complexity reinforces gender differences in initial returns to labor, to sustain women’s specialization in cooking. Using the flavor versatility of native spices as an instrument for cuisine complexity, together with individual-level labor market data, we find that more complex cuisines reduce women's labor force participation, particularly among married women.
