IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijlaec/v63y2020i3d10.1007_s41027-020-00243-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rural Non-farm Employment in Eastern India: Implications for Economic Well-being

Author

Listed:
  • Anjani Kumar

    (International Food Policy Research Institute)

  • Nijara Deka

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

  • Seema Bathla

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

  • Sunil Saroj

    (International Food Policy Research Institute)

  • S. K. Srivastava

    (National Institute of Agricultural, Economics and Policy Research (NIAP))

Abstract

To be inclusive, economic development in India must focus on eastern India, which has a high population growth rate, population pressure, high incidence of poverty, small landholding size in agriculture, and underdeveloped rural infrastructure. Employment diversification towards the non-farm sector in eastern India from 1993–1994 to 2011–2012 shows considerable variation by income group and farm-size. The effects of diversification—whether driven by pursuit of higher income or distress—are stratified. Estimates based on instrumental variable regressions suggest that all types of non-farm employment improve the economic well-being of households.

Suggested Citation

  • Anjani Kumar & Nijara Deka & Seema Bathla & Sunil Saroj & S. K. Srivastava, 2020. "Rural Non-farm Employment in Eastern India: Implications for Economic Well-being," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(3), pages 657-676, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:63:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s41027-020-00243-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-020-00243-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41027-020-00243-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s41027-020-00243-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Lanjouw & Rinku Murgai & Nicholas Stern, 2013. "Nonfarm diversification, poverty, economic mobility, and income inequality: a case study in village India," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(4-5), pages 461-473, July.
    2. Reardon, Thomas & Taylor, J. Edward, 1996. "Agroclimatic shock, income inequality, and poverty: Evidence from Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 901-914, May.
    3. Hans P. Binswanger-Mkhize, 2012. "Is There Too Much Hype about Index-based Agricultural Insurance?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 187-200, February.
    4. Haggblade, Steven & Hazell, Peter & Reardon, Thomas, 2010. "The Rural Non-farm Economy: Prospects for Growth and Poverty Reduction," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1429-1441, October.
    5. Mellor, John W. & Lele, Uma J., 1973. "Growth Linkages of the New Foodgrain Technologies," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 1-22.
    6. Hoang, Trung X. & Pham, Cong S. & Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet A., 2014. "Non-Farm Activity, Household Expenditure, and Poverty Reduction in Rural Vietnam: 2002–2008," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 554-568.
    7. Vinoj Abraham, 2008. "Employment growth in rural India: Distress driven?," Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum Working Papers 404, Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum, India.
    8. Peter Lanjouw & Rinku Murgai, 2009. "Poverty decline, agricultural wages, and nonfarm employment in rural India: 1983–2004," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(2), pages 243-263, March.
    9. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Sur, Mona, 2007. "Sri Lanka's Rural Non-Farm Economy: Removing Constraints to Pro-Poor Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2056-2078, December.
    10. Hazell, Peter B. & Haggblade, Steven, 1990. "Rural - urban growth linkages in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 430, The World Bank.
    11. Himanshu, Himanshu & Lanjouw, Peter & Mukhopadhyay, Abhiroop & Murgai, Rinku, 2011. "Non-farm diversification and rural poverty decline: a perspective from Indian sample survey and village study data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 38371, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    13. Kumar, Anjani & Kumar, Pramod & Sharma, Alakh N., 2012. "Crop Diversification in Eastern India: Status and Determinants," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 67(4), pages 1-17.
    14. Nagler, Paula & Naudé, Wim, 2017. "Non-farm entrepreneurship in rural sub-Saharan Africa: New empirical evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 175-191.
    15. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & Zhu, Nong, 2005. "The Role of Non-Farm Incomes in Reducing Rural Poverty and Inequality in China," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt7ts2z766, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    16. Xavier Fontaine, 2011. "Envy and Hope," Working Papers hal-00616993, HAL.
    17. Lanjouw, Jean O. & Lanjouw, Peter, 2001. "The rural non-farm sector: issues and evidence from developing countries," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-23, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shiba Shankar Pattayat & Jajati Keshari Parida, 2024. "Drivers of Rural Non-farm Sector Employment in India, 1983–2019," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 25(1), pages 45-73, March.
    2. David Forkuor & Andrews Korah, 2023. "NGOs and sustainable rural development: experience from Upper West Region of Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 351-374, January.
    3. Gautam Kumar Das & Nijara Deka, 2024. "Rural Non-Farm Sector Employment in the North-Eastern Region of India: Determinants and Implications for Wellbeing," NCAER Working Papers 164, National Council of Applied Economic Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mamoudou Ba & Amar Anwar & Mazhar Mughal, 2021. "Non‐farm employment and poverty reduction in Mauritania," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 490-514, April.
    2. Benjamin Davis & Paul Winters & Thomas Reardon & Kostas Stamoulis, 2009. "Rural nonfarm employment and farming: household‐level linkages," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(2), pages 119-123, March.
    3. Dedehouanou, Sènakpon Fidèle Ange & Araar, Abdelkrim & Ousseini, Aichatou & Harouna, Abdoulaziz Laouali & Jabir, Maimounata, 2018. "Spillovers from off-farm self-employment opportunities in rural Niger," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 428-442.
    4. Benjamin Davis & Paul Winters & Gero Carletto & Katia Covarrubias & Esteban Quinones & Alberto Zezza & Kostas Stamoulis & Genny Bonomi & Stefania DiGiuseppe, 2007. "Rural Income Generating Activities; A Cross Country Comparison," Working Papers 07-16, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    5. Imai, Katsushi S. & Gaiha, Raghav & Thapa, Ganesh, 2015. "Does non-farm sector employment reduce rural poverty and vulnerability? Evidence from Vietnam and India," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 47-61.
    6. Anviksha Drall & Sabuj Kumar Mandal, 2020. "Determinants of various modes of rural non-farm sector (RNFS) employment in SAT (semi-arid tropics) and Eastern regions of India: an empirical analysis," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 253-282, December.
    7. Davis, Benjamin & Winters, Paul & Carletto, Gero & Covarrubias, Katia & Quiñones, Esteban J. & Zezza, Alberto & Stamoulis, Kostas & Azzarri, Carlo & DiGiuseppe, Stefania, 2010. "A Cross-Country Comparison of Rural Income Generating Activities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 48-63, January.
    8. Jan Fałkowski & Maciej Jakubowski & Paweł Strawiński, 2014. "Returns from income strategies in rural Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 139-178, January.
    9. Zeeshan & Geetilaxmi Mohapatra & Arun Kumar Giri, 2022. "How Farm Household Spends Their Non-farm Incomes in Rural India? Evidence from Longitudinal Data," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(4), pages 1967-1996, August.
    10. Zhu, Nong & Luo, Xubei, 2008. "The impact of remittances on rural poverty and inequality in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4637, The World Bank.
    11. Joshua D Merfeld, 2020. "Moving Up or Just Surviving? Nonfarm Self‐Employment in India," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 32-53, January.
    12. Kazi Iqbal & Md Nahid Ferdous Pabon & Md Wahid Ferdous Ibon, 2023. "Examining rural income and employment in Bangladesh: A case of structural changes in the rural nonfarm sector in a developing country," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(3), pages 364-387, July.
    13. Owoo, Nkechi S. & Naudé, Wim, 2014. "Non-Farm Enterprise Productivity and Spatial Autocorrelation in Rural Africa: Evidence from Ethiopia and Nigeria," IZA Discussion Papers 8295, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Hoang, Trung X. & Pham, Cong S. & Ulubaşoğlu, Mehmet A., 2014. "Non-Farm Activity, Household Expenditure, and Poverty Reduction in Rural Vietnam: 2002–2008," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 554-568.
    15. Vatta, K & Singh, G & Sharma, N & Bhoi, PB, 2018. "Regional dimensions and determinants of income diversification in rural India," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 31(2).
    16. Andaleeb Rahman & Sumit Mishra, 2020. "Does Non-farm Income Affect Food Security? Evidence from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 1190-1209, June.
    17. Musa Hasen Ahmed & Kumilachew Alamerie Melesse, 2018. "Impact of off-farm activities on technical efficiency: evidence from maize producers of eastern Ethiopia," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-15, December.
    18. Gero Carletto & Katia Covarrubias & Benjamin Davis & Marika Krausova & Kostas Stamoulis & Paul Winters & Alberto Zezza, 2007. "Rural income generating activities in developing countries: re-assessing the evidence," The Electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. 4(1), pages 146-193.
    19. Marwan Benali & Bernhard Brümmer & Victor Afari‐Sefa, 2018. "Smallholder participation in vegetable exports and age‐disaggregated labor allocation in Northern Tanzania," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 549-562, September.
    20. Koomson, Isaac & Orkoh, Emmanuel & Ahmad, Shabbir, 2023. "Non-farm entrepreneurship, caste, and energy poverty in rural India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:63:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s41027-020-00243-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.