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Off-farm employment and time allocation in on-farm work in rural China from gender perspective

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  • Su, Weiliang
  • Eriksson, Tor
  • Zhang, Linxiu
  • Bai, Yunli

Abstract

This paper sheds light on how the growing number of off-farm employees affects the labor allocation of female and male left-behind farmers in the Chinese agricultural sector. We find no direct effect of off-farm employment on left behind workers' total working time in farming, nor do we observe a gender difference in this respect. However, we do find that increasing off-farm work is associated with fewer days worked on staple crops, and in the harvesting and sales stages of the production process. Hiring labor and buying agricultural services also impact left behind workers' time allocation. Moreover, we find that in China, contrary to several other developing countries, there is no trend towards a feminization of agriculture, but rather a tendency in the reverse direction.

Suggested Citation

  • Su, Weiliang & Eriksson, Tor & Zhang, Linxiu & Bai, Yunli, 2016. "Off-farm employment and time allocation in on-farm work in rural China from gender perspective," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 34-45.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:41:y:2016:i:c:p:34-45
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2016.08.006
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    5. Chang, Huayi & Zhang, Junbiao & He, Ke & Zeng, Yangmei, 2020. "Impact of off-farm employment on household clean energy consumption in rural China: A gender perspective," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304259, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Caihua Xu & Qian Wang & Shah Fahad & Masaru Kagatsume & Jin Yu, 2022. "Impact of Off-Farm Employment on Farmland Transfer: Insight on the Mediating Role of Agricultural Production Service Outsourcing," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, October.
    7. Jian Zhang & Ashok K. Mishra & Peixin Zhu, 2021. "Land rental markets and labor productivity: Evidence from rural China," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(1), pages 93-115, March.
    8. Kaitlyn Spangler & Maria Elisa Christie, 2020. "Renegotiating gender roles and cultivation practices in the Nepali mid-hills: unpacking the feminization of agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(2), pages 415-432, June.
    9. Renwick, A. & Ma, W. & Nie, P. & Tang, J., 2018. "The Joint Effects of Off-farm Work and Smartphone Use on Household Income in Rural China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277304, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Zhu, Zhen & Zhou, Jun & Li, Bowei & Shen, Yueqin & Zhang, Yaoqi, 2020. "How feminization of forest management drives households' adoption of technologies: Evidence from non-timber forest products operations in China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    11. Yue Shui & Dingde Xu & Yi Liu & Shaoquan Liu, 2021. "The Influence of Human Capital and Social Capital on the Gendered Division of Labor in Peasant Family in Sichuan, China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 505-522, June.
    12. Jinning Li & Shunfeng Song & Guanglin Sun, 2022. "Non-Farm Employment, Farmland Renting and Farming Ability: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-16, April.
    13. Wang, Ying & Zhang, Qi & Bilsborrow, Richard & Tao, Shiqi & Chen, Xiaodong & Sullivan-Wiley, Kira & Huang, Qingfeng & Li, Jiangfeng & Song, Conghe, 2020. "Effects of payments for ecosystem services programs in China on rural household labor allocation and land use: Identifying complex pathways," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
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    15. Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshi & Renwick, Alan, 2019. "Impact of off-farm income on household energy expenditures in China: Implications for rural energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 248-258.

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