Does computer penetration increase farmers’ income? An empirical study from China

The diffusion and adoption of modern information technology provide new chance for China to close urban-rural income gap. This paper uses China's provincial panel data from 2002 to 2013 to investigate the effect of computer penetration on rural residents' income. A public program aiming to connect every village with broadband Internet and other rural facilities provides plausibly exogenous variation in rural residents' availability and adoption of the broadband Internet, which is used to explore the instrument variable for rural computer penetration. The results show that rural computer penetration tends to increase rural residents' income over time, but the average effect remains limited. The dynamic panel threshold effects model, which allows for both the threshold variable and other covariates to be endogenous, is further used to explore the constraints of the income-increase effect of rural computer penetration. It shows that the effect is at least doubled over the average effect estimated from instrument variables method, once the digital divide causes are removed. Our findings have important implications for the government to increase rural residents' income and reduce urban-rural income gap by encouraging rural computer usage and removing the digital divide.     

A study on the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in NUTS3 regions within the framework of digital agenda for Europe

This paper investigates the high-speed broadband situation in the EU and its prospects. It uses a deployment model to estimate the investment required to meet the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) broadband targets set by the European Commission in its Europe 2020 strategy at different stages: as of 2016, after expected operators’ deployment, after public subsidies and leveraged investment, and as expected in 2020. The model uses data at the NUTS3 level, which is the most granular level that has data available on the status of broadband deployment, to arrive at a coherent and comparable framework. From the different perspectives on the investment to meet DAE targets, the paper concludes on the need for an appropriate combination of incumbent and alternative operators investments, public subsidies and leveraged investments, and new investments, both public and private and non-existing as of 2016, examining their feasibility and the impact of different regulatory, technical, and policy strategies.     

Global value chains,large-scale farming,and poverty: Long-term effects in Senegal

This paper presents panel data evidence on the impact of expansion of global value chains and large-scale export-oriented farms in developing countries over almost a decade. We estimate the income effects of wage employment on large-scale farms in the horticultural export sector in Senegal, using data from two survey rounds covering a seven-years period of rapid expansion of the sector. We estimate average income effects as well as heterogeneous income effects, using fixed effects and quantile fixed effects regressions. We find that poverty and inequality reduced much faster in the research area than elsewhere in Senegal. Employment in the horticultural export sector is associated with higher household income and the income effect is strongest for the poorest households. Expansion of the horticultural export sector in Senegal has been particularly pro-poor through creating employment that is accessible and creates substantial income gains for the poorest half of the rural population. These pro-poor employment effects contrast with insights in the literature on increased inequality from rural wage employment.     

How does population density influence agricultural intensification and productivity? Evidence from Malawi

This article uses nationally representative household-level panel data from Malawi to estimate how rural population density impacts agricultural intensification and household well-being. We find that areas of higher population density are associated with smaller farm sizes, lower real agricultural wage rates, and higher real maize prices. Any input intensification that occurs seems to be going to increasing maize yields, as we find no evidence that increases in population density enable farmers to increase gross value of crop output per hectare. We also find evidence that households in more densely populated areas increasingly rely on off-farm income to earn a living, but there appears to be a rural population density threshold beyond which households can no longer increase off-farm income per capita.     

Broadband׳s contribution to economic growth in rural areas: Moving towards a causal relationship

This paper uses recent data on both broadband availability and adoption to empirically gauge the contribution of broadband to the economic growth of rural areas of the United States over the past decade. Availability data from the National Broadband Map aggregated to county level is used in conjunction with county-level adoption data from Federal Communication Commission. Economic variables of interest include median household income, number of firms with paid employees, total employed, percentage in poverty, and the percentage of employees classified as either creative class or non-farm proprietors. A propensity score matching technique (between a “treated” group associated with various broadband thresholds and a control group) is used to make preliminary causal statements regarding broadband and economic health. Growth rates between 2001 and 2010 for different economic measures are tested for statistical differences between the treated and non-treated groups, restricting the analysis to non-metropolitan counties. Results suggest that high levels of broadband adoption in rural areas positively (and potentially causally) impacted income growth between 2001 and 2010, and negatively influenced unemployment growth. Similarly, low levels of broadband adoption in rural areas lead to declines in the number of firms and total employment numbers in the county. Broadband availability measures (as opposed to adoption) demonstrate only limited impacts, suggesting that future broadband policies should be more demand-oriented.     

Does urbanization reduce rural poverty? Evidence from Vietnam

This paper uses data from household surveys to contribute to the urbanization-poverty nexus literature by assessing the effect of urbanization on income, expenditure, and poverty in rural households in Vietnam. We find that the urbanization process stimulates the transition from farm to non-farm activities in rural areas. More specifically, urbanization tends to reduce farm income and increase wages and non-farm income in rural households. This suggests that total income and consumption expenditure of rural households are more likely to increase with urbanization. Finally, we find also that urbanization helps decrease the expenditure poverty rate of rural households, albeit by a small magnitude.     

A Proposed Sustainable Rural Development Index (SRDI): Lessons from Hajij village,Iran

While there are many indices to gauge growth and development, there remains an ambiguity on how best to measure the development of tourism in rural locations. Current thinking emphasizes the specific characteristics of a given location and the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas depicts a requirement for participatory processes in local development. This study is inspired by implementation of the European Charter in Northern Italy, using it as a guideline. The context for this study is Hajij Village in Iran, and the approach adopted differed from that undertaken in Italy with regards to the main target, time and procedures of implementation. The study proposes the novel index based on the weighted averages of 20 variables as used with a sample of 87 members of the Hajij Community. The study explores the possibility of quantitative measurements between the weaknesses, strengths, threats, and opportunities associated with development plans.     

农村金融综合改革试验区:瑞安之探索实践

瑞安是“温州模式”的领头雁，自温州金融综合改革试验区获批之后，积极践行农 村金融改革，为全国金融改革提供经验。本文以农村金融组织与农类企业为对象，分别深入调 查实施主体的改革成效与服务对象的金融服务现状，从三维视角研究分析当前农村金融服务 存在的问题与原因，并以此为依据提出改善农村金融服务的对策与建议。     

Rural electrification and groundwater pumps in India: Evidence from the 1982–1999 period

India's groundwater extraction is heavily dependent on diesel pumps, and one reason is the lack of reliable power supply. The widespread use of diesel pumps is an economic problem due to the inefficiency and high cost of said pumps. Could rural electrification improve the situation? We estimate the relationship between village electrification and the counts of electric and diesel pumps in India, 1982–1999. We find that, in addition to increasing the number of electric pumps, rural electrification also greatly increases the number of diesel pumps. While initially surprising, these results make sense in an environment characterized by frequent power outages and constant quality problems. If rural electrification increases the number of electric pumps and promotes irrigated agriculture, the demand for diesel pumps also grows because many farmers need a reliable pump that does not depend on electricity. Without improvements in the supply of electricity through rational power sector reforms, India cannot stop the spread of diesel pumps through rural electrification. For energy and development economists, the results are novel because previous econometric work has largely focused on industrial uses of power.     

Redefining rural prosperity through social learning in the cooperative sector: 25 years of experience from organic agriculture in Spain

In the political system and in public perception, the well-functioning of economy is frequently equalled to the output of the national economic system. However, during the last decades, this narrow conception of economic prosperity started to erode. This paper is based on a rural prosperity conceptual framework that takes into account the systemic nature and dynamics of interactions and impacts within rural systems through the analysis of an organic agriculture cooperative called Camposeven in the south east of Spain. The focus is on rural prosperity, differences in understanding, related parameters and strategies used by the cooperativés farming partners to success without following the traditional conventions of economic growth and farm-efficiency. Experience lessons in this paper demonstrate that the “technical-economic” approach of rural prosperity is not sufficient and results emphasize the important role of individuals’ behaviour as well as the contexts in which they are involved. The findings point to the increasing relevance of expanding both the theory and practice of rural prosperity approaches in sustainable rural development. This is important in order to enrich the connections between rural prosperity and other concepts such as social capital, innovation, social learning and resilience.