The Impact of Coupled and Decoupled Government Subsidies on Off-Farm Labor Participation of U.S. Farm Operators

With the 1996 Farm Act, the United States introduced payments that were designed to be "decoupled." Labor allocation choices are likely to be affected by receipt of payments, and income from off-farm jobs has been the major source of income for most farm households for sometime. This article examines whether the 1996 change has affected the off-farm labor participation of farm households. We conclude that the observed increase in off-farm participation of farm operators who received payments was not the result of the 1996 policy change. Government payments, whether coupled or decoupled, have a negative effect on off-farm labor participation.     

Health care expenditures of self‐employed farm households in the United States

For self‐employed individuals and their families, purchases of health care services and health insurance policies have the potential to impact their health status, as well as the financial viability of their businesses. Most people in the United States receive health insurance coverage through employer‐sponsored programs. Self‐employed individuals and their households, such as farm households, may face a greater challenge in getting affordable health insurance. Using a large cross‐sectional farm household level dataset, we estimate the impact of the source of health insurance on health care expenditures of farm households in the United States. Results suggest that farm households purchasing individual health insurance directly from vendors are likely to spend more on health care than those with other sources of health insurance. After controlling for a variety of personal and local area characteristics, having health insurance was negatively related to total health care expenditures. Age and income, not surprisingly, were also found to be significant in explaining health care expenditures.