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Rural Income Generating Activities; A Cross Country Comparison

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Author Info
Benjamin Davis (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Paul Winters (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Gero Carletto (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Katia Covarrubias (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Esteban Quinones (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Alberto Zezza (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Kostas Stamoulis (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Genny Bonomi (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)
Stefania DiGiuseppe (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper uses a newly constructed cross country database composed of comparable variables and aggregates from household surveys to examine the full range of income generating activities carried out by rural households in order to determine: 1) the relative importance of the gamut of income generating activities in general and across wealth categories; 2), the relative importance of diversification versus specialization at the household level; 3) the relationship between key household assets and the participation in and income earned from these activities; and 4) the influence of rural income generating activities on poverty and inequality. Analysis of the RIGA cross country dataset paints a clear picture of multiple activities across rural space and diversification across rural households. This is true across countries in all four continents, though less so in the African countries included in the dataset. For most countries the largest share of income stems from off farm activities, and the largest share of households have diversified sources of income. Diversification, not specialization, is the norm, although most countries show significant levels of household specialization in non-agricultural activities as well. Nevertheless, agricultural based sources of income remain critically important for rural livelihoods in all countries, both in terms of the overall share of agriculture in rural incomes as well as the large share of households that still specialize in agricultural sources of income.

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Paper provided by Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA) in its series Working Papers with number 07-16.

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Length: 68 pages
Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:fao:wpaper:0716

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Related research
Keywords: rural non farm; income diversification; household surveys.;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
O57 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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References listed on IDEAS
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Gustavo Anríquez & Silvio Daidone, 2008. "Linkages between Farm and Non-Farm Sectors at the Household Level in Rural Ghana A consistent stochastic distance function approach," Working Papers 08-01, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA). [Downloadable!]
  2. 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. [Downloadable!]
  3. Alberto Zezza & Benjamin Davis & Carlo Azzarri & Katia Covarrubias & Luca Tasciotti & Gustavo Anriquez, 2008. "The Impact of Rising Food Prices on the Poor," Working Papers 08-07, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Alberto Zezza & Gero Carletto & Benjamin Davis & Kostas Stamoulis & Paul Winters, 2007. "Rural Income Generating Activities: Whatever Happened to the Institutional Vacuum? Evidence from Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Vietnam," Working Papers 07-24, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Zezza, Alberto & Winters, Paul & Davis, Benjamin & Carletto, Gero & Covarrubias, Katia & Quinones, Esteban & Stamoulis, Kostas & Diguiseppe, Stefania, 2007. "Rural Household Access to Assets and Agrarian Institutions: A Cross Country Comparison," 106th Seminar, October 25-27, 2007, Montpellier, France 7925, European Association of Agricultural Economists. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Gustavo Anríquez & Kostas Stamoulis, 2007. "Rural development and poverty reduction: is agriculture still the key?," The Electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. 4(1), pages 5-46. [Downloadable!]
  7. Paul Winters & Timothy Essam & Benjamin Davis & Alberto Zezza & Calogero Carletto & Kostas Stamoulis, 2008. "Patterns of Rural Development: A Cross-Country Comparison Using Microeconomic Data," Working Papers 08-06, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA). [Downloadable!]
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