Impact of Ethiopia's productive safety net program on manure use by rural households: Evidence from Tigrai,Northern Ethiopia

Although development intervention programs can have far-reaching impacts beyond their stated objective, there have been few careful studies on associated but unintended outcomes of such programs. This study assesses the impact of membership in the public works component of Ethiopia's productive safety net program (PSNP) on whether households use manure and the amount of it they use. This is done using the double-hurdle method based on survey data of 2015 on 11 agro-climatically diverse districts of the Tigrai region in Northern Ethiopia. Results show that PSNP member households are not different from their nonmember counterparts in terms of manure use. This may indicate that PSNP is helping member households catch up with nonmember households in terms of manure use, even though they have smaller livestock ownership. This might indicate that PSNP member households are becoming more aware of the benefits of using manure, and hence are using available manure more efficiently. Therefore, this could be taken as one additional positive contribution of the PSNP in Ethiopia's endeavor to improve food security of poor rural farm households by increasing their productivity.     

Rural households’ participation in charcoal production in Zambia: Does agricultural productivity play a role?

The study uses a nationally representative dataset of smallholder farmers in Zambia to determine the effect of agricultural productivity on households’ participation in charcoal production. An instrumental variable probit approach is applied to account for the endogeneity of agricultural productivity in household's charcoal participation decision. We find a negative and significant effect of agricultural productivity on household's likelihood of participation in charcoal production. Results also show that higher education, income, asset value, and participation in off-farm employment opportunities reduce the likelihood of participation in charcoal production. Therefore, interventions seeking to reduce charcoal production in rural Zambia could benefit from improving smallholder agricultural productivity, incomes, asset base, and off-farm employment creation. However, interventions need not lose sight of other important macro-level factors.     

农村 “三权”抵押贷款融资对农户生计策略的影响基于重庆城乡统筹试验区5区县562户调查数据

目的 农村“三权”抵押贷款融资会改变农户生计资本的储量和组合形式,从而使得农户的生计策略发生变化,进而影响其生计结果。研究农村“三权”抵押贷款融资对农户生计策略的影响,为政府更好地精准扶贫,完善农村金融创新制度提供实证依据,具有必要性和现实意义。方法 文章以重庆城乡统筹试验区5个县（市、区）562户农户问卷为样本数据,通过建立Probit回归模型来分析农村“三权”抵押贷款融资对农户生计策略的影响。结果 农村“三权”抵押贷款融资政策实施后,研究区农户务农的比例下降,当地打工的比例有所上升,外出打工和个体经营成为他们的主要生计策略;参与农村“三权”抵押贷款融资的农户进行务农和外出打工的概率显著低于没有参与的农户;参与农村“三权”抵押贷款融资农户进行当地打工和个体经营的概率显著高于没有参与的农户。结论 当地政府在继续推广农村“三权”抵押贷款融资的同时,应帮助农户了解和认知参与农村“三权”抵押贷款融资的相关政策,提高农户“三权”抵押贷款融资的参与度,并且对“三权”抵押贷款机制进行拓展,使其能够用于更多的产业发展,为农户提供更多的当地就业机会;同时,当地政府应加强致力于教育发展和大力度营造良好的外部基础设施环境,并利用当地区域产业优势资源合理引导农户寻求适合自身情况的生计发展模式,实现农户脱贫致富及其生计可持续发展。     

How Do Health and Social Insurance Programmes Affect the Land and Labour Allocations of Farm Households? Evidence from Taiwan

To protect farmers from health care costs and risks to livelihood, most countries have developed special health and social insurance programmes specifically for farmers. While numerous studies have examined the determinants of participation in these programmes, little is known about how they influence famers' land and labour allocations. Without government‐sponsored health and social insurance, farmers may seek off‐farm employment in order to obtain similar benefits. Conditioning eligibility for social insurance on minimum land holdings and on‐farm work days can lead to delayed retirement and other forms of job lock. We investigate these issues using a unique dataset of 703,287 farms in Taiwan. After controlling for non‐random participation in Taiwan's social insurance programme, we find that the programme increases (decreases) on (off) farm labour supply, and decreases the amount of set‐aside land. This suggests that payments from social insurance substitute for those issued through land set‐aside programmes to some extent, and that failing to account for this substitution increases the cost of achieving both programmes' objectives.     

Development of township enterprise and alleviation of the employment problem in rural China

In contrast to the situation in western countries at the time of their industrialization, it has been and still is impossible for rural labour in China to move to the urban sector for employment. For this and other reasons, including shortage of arable land and population growth, lack of employment opportunities continues to be a serious problem in rural China. This article discusses the development of township enterprise in rural areas and its role in the alleviation of China's rural employment problem. It is suggested that the further development of township enterprise should be an important element of China's development strategy.     

农民工转移就业对农村居民收入的影响及其空间溢出效应

目的 农民工作为农村人口的重要组成部分,其转移就业问题一直被各界高度关注。文章利用2011—2021我国31个省（市、区,未含香港、澳门和台湾省）的空间面板数据,探究农民工转移就业对农村居民收入的影响及其空间溢出效应。方法 结合前人研究成果和理论基础,分析农民工转移就业对农村居民收入的影响机制,通过莫兰检验验证农民工转移就业和农村居民收入空间相关性之后,再选取固定效应空间杜宾模型进行实证分析,并通过3种空间矩阵检验结果的稳健性。结果 （1） 发现农民工转移就业和农村居民收入具有明显的L—L、H—H集聚的空间特征,空间相关性显著;（2） 农民工转移就业与农村居民收入空间交互效应也显著;农民工转移就业对农村居民收入有显著的正向影响;（3） 农民工转移就业对农村居民收入具有显著的空间溢出效应。结论 重视农民工转移就业的空间溢出效应,进一步提高农民工受教育程度,加快农民工市民化进程,可促进农民工转移就业,进而有效提升农村居民收入水平。     

论新农村建设农户居住空间景观设计的新颖性

人类最主要的社会活动场所是我们的居住空间。居住空间模式可以反映一个国家或地区的经济生产水平、物质与精神文明、文化渊源等诸多方面。在人类生产生活中,人类的居住环境与自然相互依存。农村居住环境作为人类从事农业生产活动之后聚集形成的生活空间,是人类居住空间的重要组成部分。随着经济的快速发展,新农村建设正在稳步发展,人民生活水平不断提高。在新农村建设过程中,农户居住空间作为农村空间结构的重要组成部分,直接关系到人们日常生活领域的建构,其景观设计直接影响了新农村建设中农户对外部空间的感知与认识。文章着重从适应现代发展要求出发,在总结相关概念的基础上,分析新农村建设中农户居住空间景观设计的要素与原则,探讨其景观设计中蕴含的新颖性,并针对新农村建设农户居住空间形态发展趋势提出相关政策建议,以期推动农户居住环境、新农村建设的健康发展。     

Collusion,Co-option and Capture: Social Accountability and Social Audits in Karnataka,India

The concept of accountability has generated extensive discussion in studies of international development, linking it with good governance, democratisation, participatory development and empowerment. India's national rural employment guarantee scheme, which aims to improve the rural infrastructure and reduce poverty by providing wage work to the rural poor, involves mandatory social audit by the beneficiaries of the scheme, in order to ensure accountability of those implementing the scheme. In this paper, we examine the social audit process in a district in the state of Karnataka to ascertain the role played by the beneficiaries in achieving such accountability. We find that Vigilance and Monitoring Committees, entrusted to spearhead the social audit process in villages, consist mainly of males and cultivators, some of whom are large landowners. We also find that social audits are dominated by the local elite who stifle “voices” from below.     

农村人力资本投资与统筹城乡发展关系辨析

统筹城乡发展,就是从整体上科学规划城镇体系、新农村建设、统筹城乡劳动就业等,其目的是缩小城乡差距,提高农民生活水平,促进城乡经济社会一体化发展.而农村人力资本投资状况对城乡差距有较大的影响.在界定相关概念的基础上,对国内外关于人力资本与城乡差距关系作了研究综述,得出农村人力资本投资与城乡统筹发展之间的辩证关系     

Transatlantic Similarities and Contrasts in Rural Development PoliciesTransatlantische Ähnlichkeiten und Gegensätze bei den Politiken zur Entwicklung des ländlichen RaumsPoints communs et divergences transatlantiques sur le développement rural

Transatlantic Similarities and Contrasts in Rural Development Policies
The United States (US) and European Union (EU) share many general policy aims for rural areas, but they differ in the ways in which they try to achieve these aims. The principal difference lies in the role envisioned by agriculture in overall rural development. EU policies treat agriculture as a provider of public goods, and many of its 'rural' programmes target agriculture. In the US, very few Federal rural development programs are focused solely on agriculture. Differences of approach may be linked to different farm distributions, population densities, historical settlement patterns, and the historical policy process per se . In particular, in the US rural development policy does not cover the environment or income support to farmers; these are addressed through other programmes. In contrast, the EU classifies its agri-environmental programmes as rural development, claiming that more environmentally-friendly farm practices bring benefits to the broader rural economy. US State and local initiatives emphasize many themes found in the EU's Pillar II programmes, such as value-added or sustainable agriculture. Overall, although there are marked differences in the ways in which policies are implemented, the coverage of these policies in the EU and US is rather similar.     

Marketing reforms,market development and agricultural production in China

Chinese agricultural reforms have consisted of two transitional stages; initially decollectivization in the late 1970s followed by market liberalization in the mid 1980s. While much research has been conducted on the initial stage of increasing the incentives for farmers in collective cultivation, little quantitative evidence exists on how marketing reforms and the development of rural markets has affected agricultural production decisions. Using more accurate and disaggregated measures of the reform and market development components of liberalization than previous research, this study examined the effects of these liberalization policies on the agricultural production decisions in Shaanxi province. Procurement quota levels were found to be positively associated with the area planted to grain crops. Thus, quotas represent an effective way of increasing grain production and thereby also a means of achieving food self sufficiency which remains an important policy objective for the Chinese government. The involvement of state grain stations in free market grain trade and the expansion of rural markets has increased the area planted to the two potential cash crops, soybeans and wheat, and reduced the sown area of the Subsistence crop, corn reflecting the reduced need to plant corn as a self insurance mechanism for smoothing consumption. An increase in procurement quotas increases fertilizer use on grain crops, due to the policy of linking quotas to access to below-market priced fertilizer, but decreases the use of labor, which shifts to other more profitable enterprises. Market development has increased these off-farm employment opportunities and the earnings associated with them, thereby promoting the shift of labor out of crop production and increased the use of fertilizer which has also become more available.     

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.     

基于行为决策理论的宅基地退出影响因素分析——甘肃省654户调查数据的实证

文章根据甘肃省654户农户问卷调查数据,基于行为决策理论,运用Probit模型和结构方程模型揭示了农户宅基地退出的影响因素。研究结果表明:农户的文化程度差异、是否在外非农务工、是否有城镇户口等自身特征的不同,会使他们对退出宅基地的态度产生差异;农户的从众示范效应和退出宅基地后不确定性风险对农户宅基地退出意愿影响最大,是影响农户退出宅基地意愿的主导因素;宅基地的禀赋效应也显著影响农户宅基地退出。相关政策建议:(1)从社保、就业和宅基地退出后生活支出三个方面减少农户宅基地退出后的不确定性风险,从而消除其宅基地退出后顾之忧;(2)利用农户的从众示范效应分批退出;(3)采取多样化的退出补偿方式。     

Canadian Agricultural Programs and Policy in Transition

Canada does not have an agricultural policy, rather it has agricultural programs. The history of price and income stabilization programs is discussed along with supply management. Programs for the grains and oilseeds sectors have witnessed major changes while supply management has not. Canadian agricultural policy falls under the responsibility of both federal and provincial governments. As a result, farmers in Alberta, for example, receive far greater assistance than farmers in Saskatchewan. Under the new Canadian farm program (CAIS) large payments have been made to Canadian farmers even though many of the farmers who applied for CAIS payments received none. Le Canada ne possède pas de politique agricole, mais plutôt des programmes agricoles. Le présent article porte sur l'histoire du programme de stabilisation du revenu, du programme de stabilisation des prix et de la gestion de l'offre. Contrairement à la gestion de l'offre, les programmes destinés aux secteurs des céréales et des oléagineux ont subi des modifications importantes. La politique agricole canadienne relève des gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux. Par conséquent, les agriculteurs de l'Alberta, par exemple, reçoivent une aide supérieure à celle accordée aux agriculteurs de la Saskatchewan. Dans le cadre du nouveau Programme canadien de stabilisation du revenu agricole (PCSRA), certains producteurs ont reçu des paiements importants alors que de nombreux autres producteurs ayant fait une demande n'ont rien reçu.     

The rural non-farm sector: issues and evidence from developing countries

The rural non‐farm sector has traditionally been viewed as a low‐productivity sector which produces low quality goods. It is often expected to wither away as a country develops. Recent years have seen a shift away from this position towards recognition that the rural non‐farm sector can, and often does, contribute to economic growth, rural employment, poverty reduction, and a more spatially balanced population distribution. This paper reviews the literature on the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of this more recent perspective, focussing on the experience in developing countries. The paper documents the size and heterogeneity of the sector, pointing to evidence that in many countries the sector is expanding rather than declining. The issues associated with measuring the sector's economic contribution are discussed, followed by empirical assessments for several countries and regions. The distributional impact of non‐farm earnings is examined and it is found that a pro‐poor impact, while by no means inevitable, can be considerable. The sector's trajectory over time, in different settings, is reviewed and the scope for, and experience of, various policy interventions is discussed.     

The contribution of organic farming to rural development: An exploration of the socio-economic linkages of organic and non-organic farms in England

Organic farming has experienced considerable growth in recent years. Proponents of organic farming point to the environmental and nutritional benefits of organic systems, although these are contested by some. More recently, it has been argued that organic farming can provide rural development benefits through enhanced employment and through closer connections with the local economy, reconnecting consumers with producers and stimulating positive economic multipliers. Against the background of claims made for the rural development potential of organic farming, this paper considers the generation and retention of income, purchasing patterns, and direct employment impacts of a large sample of organic and non-organic farmers in England. The paper reveals some important distinctions between the characteristics of organic and non-organic farms and farmers. It is argued that most of these differences do not stem directly from differences in farming systems but, rather, reflect considerable differences in the people who operate organic farms as well as the distinctive business configurations they frequently adopt.     

Applying a capitals approach to understand rural development traps: A case study from post-socialist Romania

Rural development models to date have failed to adequately explain why development stagnates in certain regions, and have often focused on single policy areas. This paper proposes a more holistic approach by combining the concept of traps with the sustainable livelihoods approach, applied to a case study in Central Romania. Based on semi-structured interviews with rural inhabitants from 66 villages in 2012, we analyze the barriers creating and maintaining a lock-in situation characterized by an apparently stable low-welfare equilibrium state. By clustering development barriers into livelihood capitals we find that barriers to rural development are multiple and interacting, and are strongly mediated by the institutional context. We show that while financial, social, human, and built capitals are inadequately developed, the region's rich natural and cultural capitals stand the best chances to foster rural development. Yet, these capitals are likely to deteriorate, too, if all other capitals remain under-developed. Given this interconnectedness of development barriers we argue that one-sided interventions cannot help ‘unlock’ the trap-like situation of Central Romania. Instead, multiple barriers will need to be tackled simultaneously. The development of social, human and financial capitals should be of priority concern because of their potentially positive spill-over effects across all other capitals.     

OCCUPATIONS CHOSEN BY THE SONS OF FARMERS

The Government aims to reduce the number of farmers in this country by encouraging some existing operators to retire. This paper explores an alternative possibility, namely, that of influencing potential new entrants, the majority of whom are farmers' sons. For a number of reasons, sons of existing farmers may find it easier, on leaving school, to stay in agricirlture than to enter other occupations. Later realisation by many of them of the economic prospects and subsequent moves to other jobs represent a waste of human resources to the whole economy as well as causing social hardship to the individual. A recent survey of the occupational choice process of rural schoolboys and students aimed to discover the obstacles, if any, to greater outward mobility. Farmers' sons were compared with others in respect of educational and occupational aspirations, alternative jobs considered, sources of career advice and work values. Some ways are suggested whereby sons whose fathers have farms which are too small to provide a living might be made aware of their own prospects in farming, the range of opportunities open to them and the satisfactions to be gained in other occupations before they commit themselves to an unrewarding strirggle in farming.     

乡村旅游高质量发展赋能乡村振兴潜力评价及障碍因素诊断

目的 乡村旅游高质量发展的经济、社会、环境、文化、民生维度目标与乡村振兴的“产业兴旺、生态宜居、乡风文明、治理有效、生活富裕”总要求是相呼应的,乡村旅游高质量发展是赋能乡村振兴的重要引擎,文章构建乡村旅游高质量发展赋能乡村振兴潜力的测度体系。方法 运用熵权法、TOPSIS、障碍度模型分析我国乡村旅游高质量发展赋能乡村振兴潜力水平的时空特征及障碍因素。结果 我国乡村旅游高质量发展赋能乡村振兴的潜力水平总体不高,且区域差异较大,东部地区发展水平普遍高于中西部地区;与省域相比,上海、北京和天津等大都市的潜力水平处于较高等级,高水平地区从点状分散向集聚分布格局转变,部分省域的等级呈现动态变化。结论 经济、文化、社会维度是准则层的主要障碍因素,其中文化维度的障碍度呈降低趋势,环境、社会维度的障碍度呈增大趋势;环境治理、绿化覆盖、客源市场消费能力、产业规模、居民消费水平是指标层的主要障碍因素。     

Valuation of environmental and social functions of the multifunctional Cypriot agriculture

The multifunctional farming sector in Cyprus poses threats on the island’s water resources, but highly contributes to the protection of the cultural identity and to the provision of incomes and employment in its rural areas. These services are externalities, as farmers are not remunerated in markets for the environmental and cultural services they provide, nor for the fact that they maintain vivid rural areas. This paper presents an application of the Choice Experiment method, in order to evaluate these non-traded outputs of Cypriot agriculture. The results of the empirical analysis demonstrate that the Cypriot public is in favor of a less intensive pattern of agriculture. Furthermore, Cypriots are willing to pay in order to mitigate adverse environmental effects of agriculture, to improve cultural heritage and to safeguard the continuation of farming trade on the island. The estimated benefits often exceed income losses from changes in the cropping pattern towards extensification, which verifies that EU rural development policies are regarded as beneficial by the public.