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Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2014

Liliana Goldín

This study examines employment dynamics of youth in the central highlands of Guatemala. It is during late adolescence and early young adulthood that rural youth explore and settle…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines employment dynamics of youth in the central highlands of Guatemala. It is during late adolescence and early young adulthood that rural youth explore and settle into occupational structures that often define their economic lives and the region’s economic outlook. However, the occupational orientations of this group are poorly documented.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. A three wave longitudinal design with six-month intervals was implemented. Households were identified using random sampling based on household maps. Two individuals per household were interviewed, a female adult and a younger woman/man between 15 and 25 years old in 451 households. In-depth interviews also were conducted with 25 individuals.

Findings

Youth occupational choices were associated not only with their health, income, and standing in their household, but also their self-image, sense of independence, and control. Nonfarm jobs were found to be most attractive to youth, who identify them as more “modern” and urban jobs. The study documents shifts from farm to nonfarm jobs, gender dynamics, the impact education has on jobs for youth, and health correlates of employment and unemployment.

Originality/value

Most characterizations of employment patterns in rural areas of Guatemala focus on the “head of household,” while overlooking the diverse job activities of other members of the household. The study not only addresses a population that is often understudied but also provides a longitudinal perspective to understand job switching and youth ideas of a “good” and “better” job.

Details

Production, Consumption, Business and the Economy: Structural Ideals and Moral Realities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-055-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 August 2020

Ayuba Seidu, Gulcan Onel and Charles B. Moss

A major policy issue facing leaders in the developing world is whether international migration, through remittances, contributes to the development process in migrant-sending…

Abstract

Purpose

A major policy issue facing leaders in the developing world is whether international migration, through remittances, contributes to the development process in migrant-sending communities or impedes the efficient allocation of labor and human capital at the origin countries. This study examines the impact of remittance inflows on out-farm migration of farm labor toward the nonfarm sector. Specifically, this study shows how international migrant remittances may alter the predictions of out-farm migration models by Harris–Todaro.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use unbalanced panel time-series data on 77 developing countries between 1991 and 2010 within a dynamic panel time-series framework to estimate the impact of remittances on the out-farm migration rate.

Findings

The authors find two competing effects of remittances on out-farm migration of labor in developing countries. First, remittances decelerate the out-farm migration rates by supplementing farm income and consumption expenditures. Second, remittances provide a source of investment in nonfarm activities that increase the rate of migration out of agriculture over time. Combining these effects, on average, our elasticity estimates indicate that a 10% increase in remittances reduces the migration out of agriculture, on average, by 0.5% in developing countries over time.

Research limitations/implications

The authors findings align with the “developmentalist” or “optimistic” views of international migration. International migration, through remittances, help make the inevitable transition out of the farm sector smoother for developing countries.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to extend the empirical literature on macro-level determinants of out-farm migration within the Harris–Todaro framework to explicitly account for the impacts of remittances inflows into developing countries that the new economics of labor migration (NELM) theory hypothesizes.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2023

Thierno Malick Diallo, Amoudath Adebomi Mazu, Abdelkrim Araar and Abdoulaye Dieye

As rural nonfarm activities grow in developing countries, less attention is being paid to the opportunities they may provide for women. The purpose of this study is to examine the…

Abstract

Purpose

As rural nonfarm activities grow in developing countries, less attention is being paid to the opportunities they may provide for women. The purpose of this study is to examine the gender-differentiated impact of nonfarm diversification strategies in rural Senegal.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses data collected from the Senegalese poverty monitoring survey and employs an instrumental variable (IV) approach and a multinomial endogenous treatment model to investigate the extent to which diversification strategies lead to improved outcomes for rural women and their households.

Findings

While nonfarm diversification is a male-dominated livelihood strategy, rural women make the most of it, regardless of whether they diversify into low- or high-return nonfarm activities. At the individual level, diversification improves rural women’s well-being through large income-increasing effects and higher empowerment but has no effect on rural men’s well-being. At the household level, the authors find that, when only women diversify, households have lower per capita income but are less likely to be food insecure than when only men or both genders diversify.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on cross-sectional data, making it impossible to examine the dynamic effects of nonfarm diversification strategies on well-being outcomes.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the current literature on rural livelihood diversification. While much attention has been paid to the feminization of agriculture, remarkably little is known about the expanding role of rural women in the nonfarm sector.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2010

Brian C. Briggeman and Maria M. Akers

Nonfarm small businesses are an integral part of the US economy, and access to credit is crucial to their success. In rural America, a significant proportion of these businesses…

Abstract

Purpose

Nonfarm small businesses are an integral part of the US economy, and access to credit is crucial to their success. In rural America, a significant proportion of these businesses are owned by farm households. The purpose of this research is to compare farm households that operate a nonfarm business to other farm households as well as to rural and urban households operating a small business; and identify key factors that differentiate these businesses in their access to credit.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a unique data set to draw comparisons between farm households (from Agricultural Resource Management Survey data) and rural and urban small businesses (from Survey of Small Business Finances data). Each of these data sets asks similar financial, demographic, and access to credit questions. Combining these data provide a unique way to analyze the financial health of farm households that operate nonfarm businesses.

Findings

The paper finds that farm households with a nonfarm business tend to have more household income and assets than other rural and urban small businesses and farm households without a nonfarm business. However, rural small business owners as well as farmers were able to access credit more freely than their urban counterparts.

Originality/value

Many studies have looked at the farmer's decision to work or invest off the farm. However, no study has considered the impact of owning a nonfarm business on the financial health and creditworthiness of a farm household.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 70 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2017

Ashok K. Mishra and Aditya R. Khanal

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of off-farm work on food security in rural Bangladesh. We use rural household-level data and a nonparametric propensity score…

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of off-farm work on food security in rural Bangladesh. We use rural household-level data and a nonparametric propensity score matching (PSM) estimator. Matching estimators are used in observational data to address the potential selection biases caused by nonrandom allocation of the treatment. Monthly food-consumption data and household income and expenditure surveys from rural Bangladesh for 2013–2014 are used in this chapter. We found that rural Bangladeshi households participating in nonfarm income-generating activities, especially in higher return nonfarm employment, enjoy higher levels of per-capita food expenditures and diet diversity – two of the measures of food security. In particular, we find that rural households increased diet diversity in cereals, fruits and vegetables, and meats. Finally, our estimates reveal that rural households participating in off-farm work increased per-capita food consumption by about Taka 1,576, on average, and increased per-capita expenditures on milk and milk products (Taka 212), and fruits and vegetables (Taka 235) significantly. Policy makers should design and implement policies that create off-farm livelihood activities. These nonfarm activities would help smallholder farm families to diversify, to supplement their income, and to continue their agricultural operations as well as increase food security.

Details

World Agricultural Resources and Food Security
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-515-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 January 2021

Wittawat Hemtanon and Christopher Gan

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of microfinance programs on the income and food expenditure of farm and nonfarm households in Thailand.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of microfinance programs on the income and food expenditure of farm and nonfarm households in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs secondary data from the Thai Socioeconomic Survey (cross-sectional data from 2017 and panel data from 2012 to 2017). The cross-sectional data (2017) include 43,210 households. Panel data from the 2012 and 2017 Socioeconomic surveys (SES surveys) include 4,406 households. The estimation methods include propensity score matching (PSM) and a fixed effect (FE) model.

Findings

The result shows that village funds (VFs) have a significant negative impact on income and food expenditure for both farm and nonfarm households. The empirical results reveal that the saving groups for production (SGPs) effects are positively significant in terms of income and food expenditure, but only for farm households. The FE model result also shows that while VFs have a negative impact on income they have a positive impact on food expenditure for farm households. In contrast, SPGs have no impact on both farm and nonfarm households' income and food expenditure.

Practical implications

Farm and nonfarm households require both welfare and microfinance programs. Microfinance programs can only help these households once they have the necessary education. The government should provide social programs and business skills for these households; completion of these courses should be a pre-requisite for accessing microfinance programs.

Originality/value

This study is unique because it reveals the microfinance impact between VFs and SGPs programs so that most low-income and poor people in Thailand can access basic financial services.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 81 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 May 2022

Napoleon Kurantin and Bertha Z. Osei-Hwedie

This chapter uses the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) 7 datasets to investigate and examine the effect of rural non-farm diversification and its implications on agricultural…

Abstract

This chapter uses the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) 7 datasets to investigate and examine the effect of rural non-farm diversification and its implications on agricultural (tree-crop) farming sector inequalities and sustainable development in Ghana. Applying a Gini-decomposition method and/or technique within a quantitative approach, the study outcome indicates the average non-farm income thus, increased income inequality among tree-crop smallholder rural livelihoods and households. Income diversification by farm households has gained the attention of governments, policy makers, and researchers because of its commonness and contribution to socio-economic development especially in developing countries. Aggregationally, non-farm self-employment reduced income inequality, and non-farm wage employment income led to an increase in income inequality. Increased rate of educational enrollment and achievement is the most important variable of non-farm income inequality. Government effort at expanding tree-crop acreages and improve yields have to degree achieved its intended policy implementation, increased rate of educational achievement could undermine the socio-economic policy cohesion and sustainable development of rural livelihood, communities, and national economy. Tree crop policies should take account of the spatial distribution of tree-crop commodity production and in particular, the implication and effect of rural non-farm diversification on agricultural sector inequalities.

Details

Globalization, Income Distribution and Sustainable Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-870-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Tuyen Quang Tran, Huong Van Vu and Tinh Thanh Doan

Little econometric evidence exists on the determinants of nonfarm participation among ethnic minorities in Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to examine the intensity of nonfarm

Abstract

Purpose

Little econometric evidence exists on the determinants of nonfarm participation among ethnic minorities in Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to examine the intensity of nonfarm participation and its correlates among ethnic minority households in Northwest Mountains – the poorest region of Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

Factors affecting the level of nonfarm participation were examined by using a fractional logit model. In addition, regression analysis using analysis of variance models were used to compare the mean of household characteristics and assets between households with and without nonfarm employment.

Findings

The study found that households depended heavily on agriculture for subsistence and their access to nonfarm employment is very limited. Households with nonfarm employment had much higher levels of education, income, assets and a much lower level of poverty than those without nonfarm participation. The intensity of nonfarm participation is positively associated with education levels, proportion of male working members and fixed assets but negatively correlated with the size of annual crop land and water surface for aquaculture. Also, the presence of nonfarm opportunities and paved roads in a commune increases the intensity of nonfarm participation for households living in that commune.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that any poverty alleviation policies should aim at improving the access of ethnic minorities to education and nonfarm job opportunities.

Originality/value

The study offers the first evidence of factors affecting the intensity of nonfarm participation among ethnic minorities in the study area.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 43 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2023

Paul Kwame Nkegbe, Abdelkrim Araar, Benjamin Musah Abu, Yazidu Ustarz, Hamdiyah Alhassan, Edinam Dope Setsoafia and Shamsia Abdul-Wahab

Ghana's economy is largely agrarian, and the business of agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are predominantly rural dwellers. As a result, efforts to lift rural…

Abstract

Purpose

Ghana's economy is largely agrarian, and the business of agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are predominantly rural dwellers. As a result, efforts to lift rural farming households from poverty have been narrowed to the promotion of agricultural development to the neglect of the rural non-farm sector. However, this is fast changing in the advent of a burgeoning rural nonfarm economy and must engage the attention of policy actors. This study thus assesses the effect of non-farm participation on households' level of commercialization of agricultural crops in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applies a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to the Ghana Living Standards Survey round 6 dataset, a stratified and nationally representative random sample of 16,772 households in 1,200 enumeration areas.

Findings

This study finds that non-farm participation increases the produce sold to output ratio. It is concluded that non-farm engagement by farmers boosts commercialization in Ghana. Thus, for the Ghanaian and similar contexts, agricultural development interventions that incorporate non-farm activities are more likely to be successful in improving livelihoods.

Research limitations/implications

The study uses only the ratio of sales value to output value definition for commercialization and acknowledges use of multiple definitions could be superior.

Originality/value

Various empirical studies have examined the link between the farm and nonfarm sectors. This paper is original in its approach as it tackles an aspect of the subject that has been understudied, namely, an exploration of nonfarm and farm linkages from the perspective of agricultural commercialization.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

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