Identifying livelihood strategies and transitions in rural China: Is land holding an obstacle?

Using nationally representative rural survey data from 2010 and 2014 in China, this paper quantitatively investigates the factors determining Chinese rural households’ livelihood strategies and dynamics in transitions. Using a multinomial probit regression and ordered logit regression (OLR), we find that human assets and transport facilities are the most important factors in improving the livelihood strategies of rural Chinese households. These factors also encourage upward livelihood mobility. However, factors such as land endowment, land renting-in, and land expropriation have a negative effect on rural Chinese households’ upward mobility in livelihood strategies.     

家庭禀赋对山区农户林业相关生计策略的影响研究

基于浙江省山区315户农户的调查数据,描述了山区农户的生计策略、不同类型农户的家庭禀赋、收入水平及来源,运用mlogit模型就家庭禀赋对山区农户林业相关生计策略的影响进行实证分析。结果表明:家庭禀赋对山区农户林业相关生计策略具有显著影响;在人力资本指标中,劳动力人数、劳动力平均健康程度对农户选择林业专业化型、林业补充型、生计多样化型生计策略具有一定的正向影响;劳动力平均受教育程度对选择林业补充型生计策略有显著的正向影响;在自然资本指标中,林地面积对农户选择林业专业化型生计策略具有正向影响;耕地面积则对于林业补充型生计策略的选择具有正向影响;在社会资本指标中,家族能人数量对于农户选择林业专业化型、林业补充型、生计多样化型具有显著的正向影响。因此,提出促进非农就业,鼓励自主创业;充分利用自然资本;加强山区农户的人力资本建设等建议。     

Decentralisation,clientelism and social protection programmes: a study of India’s MGNREGA

Abstract

Does decentralisation promote clientelism? If yes, through which mechanisms? We answer these questions through an analysis of India’s (and the world’s) largest workfare programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in two Indian states: Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh (AP). The two states adopted radically different implementation models: Rajasthan’s decentralised one stands in contrast with Andhra Pradesh’s centralised and bureaucracy-led model. Using a mixed method approach, we find that in both states local implementers have incentives to distribute MGNREGA work in a clientelistic fashion. However, in Rajasthan, these incentives are stronger, because of the decentralised implementation model. Accordingly, our quantitative evidence shows that clientelism is more serious a problem in Rajasthan than in AP.     

The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries

The diversity of rural livelihoods in low income developing countries is receiving increased attention in discussions about rural poverty reduction. This paper explores just one facet of livelihood diversity, namely the reasons for households to adopt multiple livelihood strategies. The distinction is made between diversification of necessity and diversification by choice. Six determinants of diversification are considered in the light of that distinction, and these are seasonality, risk, labour markets, credit markets, asset strategies, and coping strategies. The paper concludes that under the precarious conditions that characterise rural survival in many low income countries, diversification has positive attributes for livelihood security that outweigh negative connotations it may possess. Policy should facilitate rather than inhibit diversity. Diverse rural livelihoods are less vulnerable than undiversified ones.     

可持续生计视角下易地搬迁精准扶贫效果评价

易地搬迁是我国实施精准扶贫政策的重要手段之一。以湖北省十堰市龙韵村115户搬迁农户为研究对象,对其搬迁前后的生计资本、生计策略以及生计结果分别进行对比,分析政策实施对搬迁农户生计的改善情况,并通过移民农户对扶贫搬迁政策的满意度评价扶贫效果。结果表明:(1)易地扶贫搬迁促进了移民生计资本的增加,改变了农户生计策略,优化了贫困户整体生计结果,精准扶贫效果显著;(2)农户对易地搬迁扶贫政策效果的整体满意度较高,均值为3.71,提升了贫困户的获得感及幸福感;(3)易地搬迁可持续减贫仍存在一定的制约因素,需要防范返贫风险。     

Specialization or diversification? The situation and transition of households’ livelihood in agricultural heritage systems

Zhagana Agriculture-Forest-Animal Husbandry Composite System (ZCS) is the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems site in the Tibetan Plateau. Similar to many traditional agricultural regions, with the development of tourism and leisure agriculture, the peasant households in ZCS have gradually changed their livelihood strategies and livelihood activities in the past 10 years, resulting in the disappearance of some traditional farming methods and agricultural landscapes with a long history. By taking livelihood assets as the entry point and livelihood strategies as the core, this paper analyzed the basic situation of households’ livelihood and the transition mechanism of different livelihood strategies in order to offer suggestions for the dynamic conservation and sustainable development of Agricultural Heritage Systems (AHS). (1) The livelihood strategies of peasant households in ZCS can be divided into two major categories: specialized strategies and diversified strategies. (2) According to the empirical calculation of the livelihood asset accounting framework of AHS, the average livelihood asset value of peasant households in ZCS is 2.040, showing that the situation of peasant households’ livelihood is inadequate. (3) The transition of peasant households’ livelihood strategies from traditional strategy to specialized or diversified livelihood strategies is mainly influenced by natural assets, human assets, cultural assets, social assets and informational assets. In order to meet the growing material and spiritual needs of peasant households and achieve the sustainable development of ZCS simultaneously, it is suggested that the agriculture-forestry-animal husbandry-tourism composite strategies shall be taken as the development direction of peasant households’ livelihood strategies.     

风险冲击对农村居民家庭相对贫困的影响——基于CFPS数据的实证分析

目的 试图从微观农户层面研究风险冲击对相对贫困的影响及作用路径,以期为增强农村居民家庭风险抵御能力、缓解相对贫困提供实证支撑。方法 文章基于中国家庭动态追踪调查（CFPS）数据,运用面板probit模型和固定效应模型实证分析风险冲击对农村居民家庭相对贫困的影响,用异质性分析和面板门槛回归模型探讨不同收入水平的农村居民家庭风险应对方式差异。结果 （1）风险冲击会增加农村居民家庭相对贫困的可能。其中,灾害冲击是导致农村居民家庭相对贫困的首要原因,其次是教育冲击和婚丧嫁娶、孩子出生等重大事件冲击,失业冲击和健康冲击的影响相对较小。（2）不同收入水平农村居民家庭的风险应对机制差异是导致相对贫困家庭无法摆脱相对贫困的重要原因。与高收入的农村居民家庭相比,低收入的农村居民家庭遭受风险冲击时会减少更多的农业生产投资,增加更少的人力资本投资,导致家庭现有的资源配置无法提升家庭未来的收入能力,使其囿于相对贫困无法脱离。结论 政府应构建更具韧性的国家治理体系、更具弹性的社会帮扶体系,在此基础上提高农村居民家庭的可持续生计能力,从而减少农村居民家庭陷入相对贫困的可能。     

Access to markets,weather risk,and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia

Despite several studies showing the effect of access to markets and weather conditions on crop production, we know quite little on whether and how livestock production systems respond to variation in weather risk and access to markets. In this paper, we study whether and how livestock production responds to (access to) markets and varying weather risk. We also explore whether such responses vary across livelihood zones and livestock production systems. We study these research questions using households’ livestock production, ownership, and marketing decisions of households in Ethiopia. We find that households living close to markets are more likely to engage in market-oriented livestock production and use modern livestock inputs. We also find that households exposed to more unpredictable weather are less likely to engage in livestock production for markets, rather they are more likely to engage in livestock production for precautionary savings and insurance. Furthermore, greater rainfall uncertainty influences livestock portfolio allocation toward those which can be easily liquidated while also discouraging investment in modern livestock inputs. However, these responses and patterns vary across livelihood zones and production systems; most of these stylized responses and impacts are more pronounced and significant in the arid and semi-arid lands of Ethiopia, where livestock herding remains a dominant source of livelihood. Those households relying only on livestock production seem more sensitive and responsive to weather risk and weather shocks. The heterogeneity in responses and impacts of weather risk among farming systems and livelihoods highlights the need for more tailored livestock sector policies and interventions.     

农地整治区农户生计脆弱性指数评估研究——基于湖北荆门和宜昌的实证研究

[目的]农地整治能通过多种有效途径改善农户的生计资本。以农地整治的角度切入来研究农户生计脆弱性的变化规律,探究农地整治对农户生计脆弱性的影响,为探索改善农户生计的可持续性提供理论借鉴。[方法]以农地整治对生计资本的直接改善为出发点,基于可持续生计分析框架,根据IPCC关于脆弱性的解释,建立农地整治区农户生计脆弱性评估框架体系,其主要涵盖农户面临的自然风险、生计资本以及适应策略3方面,通过熵权法确定指标权重。基于湖北省荆门、宜昌两地区的394户农户调查问卷,运用生计脆弱性评估框架计算得到农地整治前后农户生计脆弱性指数,同时,针对荆门、宜昌两地区分别进行评估研究。[结果](1)农地整治前后农户生计脆弱性指数分别为-0.223和-0.423,在整治之后农户生计脆弱性显著降低。(2)生计脆弱性指数变化的影响因素存在地区性差异。荆门地区整治前后的生计脆弱性指数变化依次受旱地情况、耕地灌溉情况、村庄绿化设施、农田水利设施的变化量等因素的影响;宜昌地区整治前后生计脆弱性指数变化依次受农田水利设施、村庄道路通达、村庄绿化设施、田间道路、耕地灌溉情况、水田情况、旱地情况的变化量等因素的影响。[结论]为提高农户福利水平,降低其生计脆弱性,建议农地整治的规划与实施要进一步关注农户生计问题,特别重视相关自然资本和物质资本的改善,同时不同实施地区要从贡献因素排序出发,实现提高农户生计脆弱性改善的目的。     

Livelihood diversification,mobile phones and information diversity in Northern Tanzania

Throughout the developing world, households are diversifying their livelihood activities to manage risk and improve their lives. Many studies have focused on the material causes and consequences of this diversification. Few, however, have examined how diversifying groups establish new patterns of communication and information exchange with others. This paper examines the relationship between livelihood diversification and information diversity among agro-pastoralist Maasai in northern Tanzania, where new mobile phone use is common. Mixed qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis are used to (1) describe how Maasai use phones to manage diverse livelihoods; and (2) assess the relationship between livelihood diversification and measures of information diversity, controlling for other factors. The findings indicate that households use phones in ways that support existing activities rather than transform them and that the relationship between livelihood diversification and information diversity is positive, non-linear, and significant.     

宅基地退出对农户生计资本的影响研究以江苏省徐州市为例

目的 通过分析宅基地退出对农户家庭生计资本的影响,为构建和完善积极有效的宅基地退出政策、减少宅基地退出引发的社会矛盾提供参考。方法 文章构建了农户家庭生计资本指标评价体系,基于江苏省徐州市的调研数据,运用双重差分模型和耦合协调模型分析了宅基地退出对农户家庭生计资本水平和生计资本结构的影响。结果 （1）从总体样本来看,宅基地退出提高了农户生计资本水平,且主要体现为物质资本和社会资本水平的提升;改善了生计资本结构;（2）宅基地退出对不同收入类型农户生计资本的影响存在显著差异：宅基地退出提高了低收入农户和中收入农户的生计资本水平、改善了中收入农户的生计资本结构,但对高收入农户生计资本水平及生计资本结构均未有显著影响。结论 总体上看,研究区宅基地退出对农户家庭生计资本水平的提高和生计资本结构的改善产生了积极影响,但农户退出宅基地后实现可持续生计的压力仍然较大。     

The effects of food sales taxes on household food spending: An application of a censored cluster model

This study proposes a model of household food spending that accounts for zero censoring and can be applied to data collected through a clustered survey design to investigate the impact of food sales taxes on three groups: households who are eligible for and participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), households who are eligible but do not participate in the program, and households who are not eligible for the program. We find that SNAP participating households are largely insensitive to grocery taxes and respond to restaurant taxes by shifting more of their food dollars towards at-home foods. Among households who are eligible for SNAP but do not participate in the program, grocery taxes reduce spending on foods purchased for at-home consumption, and thereby increase the amount of the total food budget allocated to away from home foods. This is concerning from a nutrition and health standpoint since away from home foods tend to be more calorie dense and nutritionally poorer than at home foods.     

Estimating the impact of farmer field schools in sub‐Saharan Africa: the case of cocoa

This study measures the economic impact of the first phase of the Cocoa Livelihood Program (CLP‐I), a current World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) project, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and aimed at improving the livelihood of over 200,000 small cocoa producers in sub‐Saharan Africa via training, crop diversification, and farmer‐based organizations. Using data collected from 2,048 pre‐ and post‐CLP‐I interviews of cocoa producers in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon, the results show that yield enhancements attributable to CLP‐I are 32%, 34%, 50%, and 62% in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon, respectively. Using a total program cost of $151–$200 per beneficiary and estimated annual benefits of $109–$322 per beneficiary over 25 years, the benefit‐cost ratios are estimated to range from $18 to $62 for every dollar spent on human capital development. These results suggest the WCF should endeavor to increase the number of farmers who receive all, not some, of the components of the program. This would not only help ensure that each producer obtains as much human capital as possible from each of the training programs but increases the probability of reaching the CLP goal of doubling the income of cocoa‐growing households.     

农地流转对农户生计转型影响的实证分析

[目的]为清晰识别土地流转对农户生计转型的影响程度,以期为后期土地流转政策及农户生计引导政策提供科学的决策依据。[方法]文章借鉴已有研究方法,基于农户可持续生计分析框架,利用内蒙古4个市区的380户农户样本数据,采用Multinomial Logit模型对参与土地流转和未参与土地流转农户的生计模式进行了分析,客观评价农村土地流转对农户生计转型的影响。[结果]农地流转在一定程度上对农户的生计转型产生了显著影响,拥有较低自然资本和较高金融资本的农户倾向混合型和务工型生计策略,同时人力资本水平高的家庭更倾向于采取混合型生计策略,而不是采取农业型生计策略。[结论]农地流转后,农户从繁重的种植业活动中得以解放,有了更多时间和精力从事非农生产活动,生计策略由单一化走向多样化,从传统的主要依赖种植业到经营养殖业、从事建筑业、交通运输业、批发零售业等非农行业,多元化了农户的收入来源。     

Adaptive choice of livelihood patterns in rural households in a farm-pastoral zone: A case study in Jungar,Inner Mongolia

From a dynamic process perspective, this study examined households’ adaptive choice of livelihood patterns in the context of changing rural China based on a 12-year continuous household survey in Jungar Banner. By referring to households’ diversified income and vocation, we classified rural livelihood patterns into planting oriented, stockbreeding oriented, half labour and half peasant, non-agriculture oriented, and labour-losing. Results show that different livelihood patterns exhibit distinctive disparities and geographical regularities. Stockbreeding oriented and non-agriculture oriented livelihood patterns are relatively more lucrative. The former was traditionally widely adopted by rural households and the latter has become the most popular in recent years, while the other three patterns are emerging or transitional ones. Then we explored the internal mechanisms of households’ livelihood choices using a multinomial logit model. Results indicate that human capital and physical capital were key factors affecting the differentiation of livelihood patterns, and natural capital was the premise for livelihood pattern transformation. Based on a series of policy interventions, the overall trends in livelihood transitions revealed that the proportion of stockbreeding oriented households and half labour and half peasant households sharply decreased, while the proportion of non-agriculture oriented households and labour-losing households largely increased, and the proportion of planting oriented households increased slightly with their management style transforming from extensive to intensive and specialized. Therefore, government interventions must conform to the transition trends and be tailored to fit different livelihood patterns by adjusting and enforcing each type of capital.     

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。     

Drivers of perceived land tenure (in)security: Empirical evidence from Ghana

Tenure security is believed to be critical in spurring agricultural investment and productivity. Yet what improves or impedes tenure security is still poorly understood. Using household- and plot-level data from Ghana, this study analyses the main factors associated with farmers’ perceived tenure security. Individually, farmers perceive greater tenure security on plots acquired via inheritance than on land allocated by traditional authorities. Collectively, however, perceived tenure security lessens in communities with more active land markets and economic vibrancy. Plots held by migrant households and women in polygamous households are perceived as less tenure secure, while farmers with political connections are more confident about their tenure security.     

Getting stuck,falling behind or moving forward: Rural livelihood movements and persistence in Nepal

Research on household livelihood dynamics is central to rural poverty reduction. In this paper, we adopt a three-wave panel dataset to explore the persistence of and transitions in household livelihoods in three districts of Nepal using duration and dynamic probit models. The results demonstrate that the livelihood strategies of rural households are dynamic: approximately 16 per cent of the sample households transitioned up to high-remunerative livelihood strategies, 10 per cent of the households shifted down to either low- or medium-remunerative livelihood strategies, and 69 per cent remained trapped in low-remunerative livelihood strategies. The major upward transition occurred from medium-remunerative strategies to high-remunerative strategies (14 per cent). Overall, 70 per cent of the households persisted in one of the three livelihood strategies, and the remaining 30 per cent changed their strategy at least once. This dynamic is associated with the households’ duration in a particular livelihood strategy and the various characteristics of households and household heads. Understanding livelihood movement, livelihood persistence and the associated covariates and targeting the poor on this basis is crucial to combating rural poverty and dismantling poverty traps. To this end, the present study suggests (i) strengthening physical and financial asset endowments to address low-remunerative strategies, (ii) improving infrastructure connectivity, particularly in remote and inaccessible areas, (iii) insuring against shocks, iv) enhancing opportunities for generating remittances and enabling petty trade, and (v) supporting the establishment of business ventures.