Market imperfections,liquidity, and farm household labor allocation: the case of rural South Africa |
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Authors: | Stefania Lovo |
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Institution: | Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Mantell Buidling, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RF, U.K. |
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Abstract: | Asset endowments and market imperfections shape households’ labor allocation decisions and lead to different production regimes within rural farm households in South Africa. This article uses a farm household model to explain the presence of three main household groups determined on the basis of the labor regime adopted: small peasants (working both on and off farm), self‐cultivators (autarkic in labor) and hiring‐in households. A partial generalized ordered logit is used to test the main predictions of the model and a Brant test on threshold constancy is performed to identify the household‐specific factors affecting labor market participation. The results show that liquidity constraints and market imperfections matter in the choice of the labor strategy adopted. Liquidity‐constrained households are more likely to sell labor off farm while access to information facilitates the hiring in of workers. |
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Keywords: | Q12 J22 J43 Labor allocation Liquidity constraint Market imperfections Farm household model South Africa |
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