Effects of Non‐Farm Employment on Rural Income Inequality in Developing Countries: An Investment Perspective

This paper makes several points based on a review of household survey evidence from Africa, Asia and Latin America. (i) In contrast to conventional wisdom, the evidence is very mixed as to the effect of non‐farm employment on rural income inequality. The non‐farm employment and microenterprise programmes now in vogue will not necessarily resolve rural income inequality problems and attendant social tensions nor automatically benefit the poor. (ii) Policymakers should be worried by substantial evidence of poor people's inability to overcome important entry barriers to many non‐farm activities. (iii) The main determinants of unequal access to non‐farm activities are the distribution of capacity to make investments in non‐farm assets and the relative scarcity of low capital entry barrier activities. Therefore, it is crucial for public investments and policy to favour an increase in the access of the poor to assets that allow them to overcome non‐farm employment entry barriers, (iv) It would be an error to assume that one can address asset‐poverty and inequality in the non‐farm sector without addressing farm‐side problems and vice versa.     

数字普惠金融对农村内部收入差距的影响研究——基于生计资源多元化视角的经验分析

目的 在推进农民农村共同富裕道路进程中,识别数字普惠金融缩小农村内部收入差距的作用,并从农户生计资源多元化配置视角探索其作用机制。方法 文章合并使用县域数字普惠金融指数和中国家庭追踪调查数据（CFPS）,构造衡量农户收入不平等程度的相对剥夺指数,采用面板Tobit模型考察数字普惠金融对农村内部收入差距的影响,采用中介效应模型从生计资源多元化配置视角考察其作用机制。结果 （1）数字普惠金融能够有效减缓农户的相对收入剥夺程度,进而缩小农村内部收入差距,数字普惠金融指数每上升1%,农户相对收入剥夺水平下降7.87%,通过一系列稳健性检验后该结果依然可信;（2）生计资源多元化是数字普惠金融缩小农村内部收入差距的重要作用机制,数字普惠金融缩差效应的11.85%可由该作用渠道来解释;（3）数字普惠金融对农村内部收入差距缩减效应也具有明显的异质性,男性户主和45岁以下户主的农户、非农就业占比高和兼业化程度大的农户获得的数字普惠金融缩差“红利”更大。结论 作为新型金融供给方式,政府应大力推进农村数字普惠金融发展,因地制宜实施农村数字金融政策,鼓励农户生计资源多元化配置,多渠道应对风险提高收入水平,进而缩小农村内部收入差距助推共同富裕。     

The impact of migration on rural poverty and inequality: a case study in China

Large numbers of agricultural labor moved from the countryside to cities after the economic reforms in China. Migration and remittances play an important role in transforming the structure of rural household income. This article examines the impact of rural‐to‐urban migration on rural poverty and inequality in a mountainous area of Hubei province using the data of a 2002 household survey. Since migration income is a potential substitute for farm income, we present counterfactual scenarios of what rural income, poverty, and inequality would have been in the absence of migration. Our results show that, by providing alternatives to households with lower marginal labor productivity in agriculture, migration leads to an increase in rural income. In contrast to many studies that suggest that the increasing share of nonfarm income in total income widens inequality, this article offers support for the hypothesis that migration tends to have egalitarian effects on rural income for three reasons: (1) migration is rational self‐selection—farmers with higher expected return in agricultural activities and/or in local nonfarm activities choose to remain in the countryside while those with higher expected return in urban nonfarm sectors migrate; (2) households facing binding constraints of land supply are more likely to migrate; (3) poorer households benefit disproportionately from migration.     

新型城镇化对农民收入的影响效应研究基于30个省（市、自治区）面板数据的实证分析

目的 通过人口的城镇化率、土地的城镇化率、经济的城镇化率、就业的城镇化率这4个自变量综合考察新型城镇化对农民收入的直接影响效应和间接影响效应并提出推进新型城镇化建设促进农民增收的建议。方法 文章运用空间杜宾模型,收集近10年我国30个省（市、自治区,不含港澳台、西藏）的相关数据分析新型城镇化对农民收入的影响。结果 新型城镇化通过人口的城镇化、土地的城镇化、经济的城镇化对农民收入产生显著正向的直接效应,且通过经济的城镇化产生显著负向的间接效应,而就业的城镇化对农民收入影响效应不显著;新型城镇化对农民收入的直接效应主要还是由人口的城镇化产生,但也不能忽视土地城镇化和经济城镇化促进农民增收的作用;控制变量中农业经济水平、农村资本投入、对外开放程度、工业化率对农民收入具有显著正向的直接效应,且农村资本投入对农民收入具有显著正向的间接效应。结论 建议政府大力发展农业现代化,促进城乡一体化;盘活农村土地资源,加快农村城镇化;拓宽农民就业渠道,缩小城乡差别。     

Regional Economic Impacts of Sustainable Development Activities: The North American Waterfowl Management Plan Introduction

A framework for economic impact analysis of sustainable development activities is used to assess the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). Significant employment and income impacts are generated in rural Manitoba communities and Canada. In addition, positive annual net farm income changes have been generated. In Manitoba, the government share of total revenue required is 15%. U.S. sources provide 64%; non-government sources provide 8.4%; and the Government of Canada provides 12.6%.     

Employment Dynamics and Linkages in the Rural Economy: Insights from Senegal

Evidence on rural wage employment is thin and lacks nuance for different employment sources, insights on dynamic effects, and an understanding of the channels of effects. We assess conceptually and empirically the direct and indirect welfare effects of entry and continuation in different types of wage employment in rural Senegal. Using panel data, fixed effects and first-difference estimation, we show substantial positive welfare and linkage effects. We find that participation in wage employment increases per capita income by 143%, and reduces poverty, poverty gap and food insecurity by, respectively, 63%, 89% and 48%. While the direct effect on income is larger for non-agricultural and contractual wage employment, the indirect income effects through self-employment are more pronounced for agricultural and casual wage employment. Our results imply that job creation is important for rural development, that wage employment in agriculture can lead to considerable growth multiplier effects, and that synergies exist between large-scale and small-scale agriculture.     

Assets,activities and income generation in rural Mexico: factoring in social and public capital⋆

In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis in the rural development literature on the multiple income‐generating activities undertaken by rural households and the importance of assets in determining the capacity to undertake these activities. Controlling for the endogeneity of activity choice and applying Lee's generalisation of Amemiya's two‐step estimator to a simultaneous equation model, household returns to assets from multiple activities are explored for the Mexico ejido sector. To incorporate the multiple variables representing social and public capital into the analysis, factor analysis is used. The results indicate that the asset position of the household has a significant effect on household participation in income‐generating activities and returns to those activities. Furthermore, the inclusion of measures of social and public capital into the analysis show that these assets play an important role in income‐generating activities and that the influence is dependent on the type of social and public capital as well as the particular activity.     

LABOUR INPUT DECISIONS OF SUBSISTENCE FARM HOUSEHOLDS IN SOUTHERN MALAWI

The objective of the paper is the presentation of a farm-household model which allows an analysis of labour input decisions of rural households in an environment with risky agricultural technologies and off-farm employment opportunities. Labour input decisions are condensed into a stochastic linear programming framework, and applied to a typical rural household in Southern Malawi. Weak adoption of yield-increasing technologies is explained by different opportunity costs of time of family members and by the risky nature of income generated using traditional or yield-increasing agricultural technologies. The view that land-saving innovations will increase agricultural production is revised. Special extension programmes for family members with low off-farm employment opportunities are proposed to increase the adoption of those technologies. These programmes have the purpose of reducing anticipated subjective income deviations for yield-increasing innovations.     

陕西农村居住地生态环境影响因素分析

[目的]随着农村城镇化进程的加快,由此引发的农村居住地生态环境恶化已成为制约农业和农村经济可持续发展的瓶颈,加强农村居住地生态环境保护和治理,是目前亟待解决的重要问题。研究分析农村居住地生态环境影响因素,为有效改善居住地生态环境提供重要理论依据。[方法]以陕西省为主要研究区域,采用层次分析法,构建矩阵模型,研究影响陕西省农村居住地生态环境的农民因素、生产活动和政府因素3个层次,包括周边乡镇企业废物排放、农用投入品的使用、畜禽养殖业废物排放、人均消费支出、农村人均家庭纯收入、农村家庭恩格尔系数、环保意识、政府监管力度、环境保护财政支出,相关政策法规等10个因素所占权重,得到不同因素的重要性排序。[结果]乡镇企业废物排放、农用投入品的使用、农村人均家庭纯收入和农村人均消费支出是影响农村居住地生态环境的主要因素,且重要性排序为乡镇企业废物排放农用投入品的使用农村人均家庭纯收入农村人均消费支出。[结论]加强乡镇企业废物排放管理和农用投入品的生产和使用审查,降低不必要的消费支出,同时为农民提供更多的就业机会,提高人均家庭村收入,是目前改善农村居住地生态环境的有效措施,为农民提供一个安全舒适的居住场所,这也将有利于农村经济的可持续发展。     

我国农村劳动力的就业意向选择分析——以统筹城乡综合配套改革试验区重庆市为例

农村劳动力的就业意向选择问题研究是对农村富余劳动力转移就业问题研究的进一步深化。该文以统筹城乡综合配套改革试验区重庆农村劳动力资源为主要研究对象,以其当前就业意向性选择为切入点,对影响农村劳动力当前就业意向的不同偏好因素进行分析,对其相关特征变量进行了详细的描述性统计分析,并采用多元Logit模型进行实证分析。研究结果表明,重庆山区农村劳动力当前就业意向存在着明显的性别差异,男性农村劳动力素质总体上优于农村女性劳动力,两者平均年龄仍较高,男性农村劳动力更倾向于外出务工或经商就业,但总体收入仍不理想。务农就业意向的农村劳动力与务工、自主创业或经商就业意向的农村劳动力相比,在年龄、耕地、收入等变量方面存在显著劣势差异。农村劳动力的人力资本、家庭禀赋和所在村劳动力人口数等变量对其不同的就业意向选择具有重要影响和显著差异。     

Income Diversification of Rural Households in China

This article examines how different patterns of farm‐level diversification affect the income levels of rural households in China. Using quantile regression analysis of data from a rural household survey, the empirical results exhibit significant differences in diversification effects across rural income strata and various structural characteristics. Diversification, especially involving nonfarm employment and migration, brings a monetary premium to low‐income rural families and an income discount to high‐income families. The policy implications suggest the encouragement of labor‐intensive enterprises in rural areas and improvement of labor quality through rural education and training programs.     

Sustainable development of rural coastal areas: Impacts of a new fisheries policy

In most EU coastal areas, over the last two decades, a significant employment and income shrink was observed; this was attributed to a gradual decline of fishery activities. Hence, the EU, in an attempt to restrain this decline and to safeguard a sustainable development of the coastal areas, initiated new measures within the current (2007–2013) Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). This work attempts to assess the effectiveness of this new policy, Axis 4 of the Operational Fisheries Programme, by measuring the employment and income effects upon the whole economy. The analysis was applied in a Greek coastal area as a case study. Results demonstrate that the employment and income generated, due to those measures, are relatively small mainly because of fund limitations and weak interactions in the local economy in a short-run timeline, though indirect benefits could occur in the long run.     

工业智能化如何影响城乡收入差距——来自农业转移劳动力就业视角的解释

随着智能制造装备在各行业的不断普及,其对劳动力就业的影响逐渐加深。基于2001~2016年中国省级面板数据与流动人口监测数据,本研究从劳动力的就业行为与收入视角,采用动态空间面板模型评估了工业智能化对城乡收入差距的影响。结果表明,工业智能化显著扩大了城乡收入差距。在人口大规模跨区域流动背景下,这一效应具有明显的空间外溢性。进一步的检验与机制分析发现,工业智能化显著降低了农业转移人口的收入水平与工作稳定性,不利于农业转移人口稳定迁移,且这种影响存在明显的个体异质性。本研究的研究结论为政府持续加大农村教育投入与职业技能培训投入给予了实证支持,也为推进财政体制改革方向提供了启示。     

Patterns of Rural Development: A Cross‐Country Comparison using Microeconomic Data

This article proposes a general pattern of rural development in which increases in per capita income are associated with a decline in the importance of agricultural production and a rise in the importance of non‐agricultural income sources. Following the approach to examining Engel’s Law, we use data from 15 developing countries and a merged dataset to test whether such a pattern emerges. The analysis shows a strong, positive relationship between per capita income and the share of income earned from rural non‐agricultural wage employment and a negative relationship between per capita income and agricultural production.     

城镇化对居民收入影响作用机制分析

城镇化是经济高质量增长的关键引擎。在全民奔小康的背景下,农村与城镇居民收入之间存在差距、农民收入较低等问题依然值得关注。研究城镇化对农村和城镇居民收入影响机制,结合实际情况制定可行性较高的措施,才能从根本上解决城乡居民收入存在的问题。提出了统筹推进城镇化,协调城乡发展,继续带动就业,促进新兴产业深度集聚等对策建议。     

FARM DIVERSIFICATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Under a new policy initiative, grants will be payable for the setting up of ancillary businesses on or adjacent to farms in the UK. While this initiative is to be welcomed, it is suggested that more could be done to develop the rural economy as a whole. Farm diversification grants, modelled on previous farm capital grant schemes, are focused on a narrow range of activities, for which demand is likely to be limited, and are most appropriate for the larger farm. They imply that farmine will continue to be the main activity and run counter to current trends. The goals of rural development and farm income support might be pursued more effectively by encouraging the creation in rural areas of off-farm employment, unrelated to agriculture, and suitable for members of families on low-income farms.     

Market Analysis,Technical Change and Income Distribution in Semi-Subsistence Agriculture: the Case of Bangladesh

For the first time, the model developed by Hayami and Herdt is applied to determine gains from modern varieties of rice in Bangladesh and the distribution of these gains between consumers and producers. The results suggest that consumers' surplus is much greater than it would have been had the high yielding crop varieties (HYVs) not been introduced. By keeping the real price lower than it would have been otherwise, the modern varieties have tended to be income equalizing for urban consumers. The Hayami-Herdt partial model even suggests that, given the relatively inelastic demand for rice in Bangladesh, the real cash income of producers has risen slightly as a result of these new technologies. In reality, however, the impact of these changes on incomes of farmers and the distribution of income between those involved in production is more complex. It is suggested that if a less partial view is taken and if account is taken of lower cost of obtaining home-consumed produce, the increase in income may be greater. In any event, there are dangers in using such a partial model to predict the developmental consequences of technological changes affecting a staple crop, and attention needs also to be given to the possibility that the supply curve may not have the simple form and pivot in the way supposed by Hayami and Herdt. While the Hayami-Herdt model is simple to apply, it is best used as a first approximation or starting point rather than a final solution. It ignores a number of criteria that could be important in assessing new agricultural technologies, such as their impact on the variability of benefits to producers and consumers and their consequences for sustainability of production. Furthermore, the Hayami-Herdt model does not deal specifically with changes in factor shares in farm production. Nor does it consider the impact on income distribution of the ownership and control of critical input like irrigation and imperfection in the rural credit market. It is pointed out in our paper that the adoption of HYVs has been associated with important variations in factor shares in Bangladeshi rice production. Analysis of available farm level data indicates that the relative share of labour has fallen, suggesting an uneven distribution of gains from technological changes between the owners of non-labour resources and those of labour resources. However, the absolute share of labour has increased, and it seems that rural employment has risen as result of the new technologies.     

Rural Population Growth, 1950–1990: The Roles of Human Capital, Industry Structure, and Government Policy

Human capital raises rural incomes, but this effect is swamped by higher returns to human capital in urban markets. This leads to "brain drain" from rural areas. Populations grow more rapidly in rural counties that have a diversified employment base. Farm population grows faster (or declines more slowly) in counties with relatively high farm income, and nonfarm populations grow faster in counties with relatively high nonfarm income. However, higher farm incomes lead to slower nonfarm population growth and vice versa. Rural county government services financed by local taxes or debt have neutral or negative effects on population growth.     

Poverty decline, agricultural wages, and nonfarm employment in rural India: 1983–2004

We analyze five rounds of National Sample Survey data covering 1983, 1987/1988, 1993/1994, 1999/2000, and 2004/2005 to explore the relationship between rural diversification and poverty. Poverty in rural India has declined at a modest rate during this time period. We provide region-level estimates that illustrate considerable geographic heterogeneity in this progress. Poverty estimates correlate well with region-level NSS data on changes in agricultural wage rates. Agricultural labor remains the preserve of the uneducated and also to a large extent of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. We show that while agricultural labor grew as a share of total economic activity over the first four rounds, it had fallen back to the levels observed at the beginning of our survey period by 2004. This all-India trajectory also masks widely varying trends across states. During this period, the rural nonfarm sector has grown modestly, mainly between the last two survey rounds. Regular nonfarm employment remains largely associated with education levels and social status that are rare among the poor. However, casual labor and self-employment in the nonfarm sector reveals greater involvement by disadvantaged groups in 2004 than in the preceding rounds. The implication of this for poverty is not immediately clear—the poor may be pushed into low-return casual nonfarm activities due to lack of opportunities in the agricultural sector rather than being pulled by high returns offered by the nonfarm sector. Econometric estimates reveal that expansion of the nonfarm sector is associated with falling poverty via two routes: a direct impact on poverty that is likely due to a pro-poor marginal incidence of nonfarm employment expansion; and an indirect impact attributable to the positive effect of nonfarm employment growth on agricultural wages. The analysis also confirms the important contribution to rural poverty reduction from agricultural productivity, availability of land, and consumption levels in proximate urban areas.     

Chinese Peasant Choices: Migration,Rural Industry or Farming

A nationally representative rural labour force survey of China is analysed to explore the allocation of labour among farming, local non-farming and temporary migration activities. Various tests of labour market segmentation are conducted. The estimated returns to labour off the farm greatly exceed those on the farm. The personal and household determinants of activities, and of days worked in them, are examined for demand or supply constraints on employment; some results are consistent with the former. The relationship between days worked off and on the farm suggests that the opportunity cost to households of non-farm work is very low. The evidence is consistent with there being rationing of non-farm employment. However, tastes, imperfect information, imperfect capital markets, risk-aversion and transaction costs are also relevant. The overcoming of the obstacles to diversification away from farming is important for rural development in China.