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Coffee price volatility and intra-household labour supply: Evidence from Vietnam

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  • Ulrik Beck
  • Saurabh Singhal
  • Finn Tarp

Abstract

Volatility in commodity markets poses an acute risk to farmers in developing countries who rely on cash crop agriculture. We combine a time series of international coffee prices with a long-running panel on coffee-growing households in Vietnam to investigate coping mechanisms employed by farmers in a transitioning economy. We find that households cope with lower coffee prices by increasing wage labour of adults with children and adolescents substituting for adults on the farm and in home production.

Suggested Citation

  • Ulrik Beck & Saurabh Singhal & Finn Tarp, 2016. "Coffee price volatility and intra-household labour supply: Evidence from Vietnam," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-16, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2016-16
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2016-16.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Thanos Mergoupis & Van Phan & John G. Sessions, 2018. "Puzzle me this?: The Vietnamese reverse gender education gap," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-116, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Tadesse Kuma & Mekdim Dereje & Kalle Hirvonen & Bart Minten, 2019. "Cash Crops and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopian Smallholder Coffee Producers," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(6), pages 1267-1284, June.

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