IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/1463.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Rural nonfarm employment : a survey

Author

Listed:
  • Lanjouw, Jean O.
  • Lanjouw, Peter

Abstract

So little is known about the rural nonfarm sector that those making policy to assist rural small-scale enterprises have done so largely"unencumbered by evidence". The Lanjouw survey of nonfarm data and policy experience attempts to correct this. Until recently, the commonly held view was that rural nonfarm employment was relatively nonproductive, producing goods and services of low quality. The rural off-farm sector was expected to wither away with development and rising incomes, and this was viewed as a positive, rather than a negative, event. A corrollary of this view was that the government need not actively worry about the sector -- or be concerned about how policies elsewhere might harm it. More recently, opinion has swung the other way, and it is increasingly argued that neglect of the sector would be mistaken. The survey highlights the positive roles that the rural nonfarm sector can play in promoting both growth and welfare. In the widespread situation of a rural workforce growing faster than the employment potential in agriculture, the nonfarm rural sector can lower unemployment and slow rural-urban migration. It is particularly useful in employing women and providing off-season incomes. The technologies used in small-scale rural manufacturing may be more appropriate and thus generate greater income from available productive inputs. What role could government play in promoting the nonfarm sector? The emphasis of government policy has been on large-scale urban industry as the main engine of growth. More recently, there has been a move toward a more"broad-based growth"approach, with greater emphasis on the development of agriculture and the rural economy. Increasingly countries have targeted project assistance schemes, for example to provide training, infrastructure, and technology to support small-scale and rural enterprises. Nonetheless, in most countries it remains true that projects to support the nonfarm rural sector are undertaken in a policy environment which is biased against this sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Lanjouw, Jean O. & Lanjouw, Peter, 1995. "Rural nonfarm employment : a survey," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1463, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1463
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1995/05/01/000009265_3961019110208/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lewis, Blane D. & Thorbecke, Erik, 1992. "District-level economic linkages in Kenya: Evidence based on a small regional social accounting matrix," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 881-897, June.
    2. Saith, A., 1989. "Location, linkage and leakage : Malaysian rural industrialisation strategies in national perspective," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18840, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    3. Uribe-Echevarria, F., 1992. "Small-scale industrial development : policy and strategic issues," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18821, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    4. Ranis, Gustav & Stewart, Frances, 1993. "Rural nonagricultural activities in development : Theory and application," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 75-101, February.
    5. Haggblade, Steven & Hazell, Peter & Brown, James, 1989. "Farm-nonfarm linkages in rural sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(8), pages 1173-1201, August.
    6. Liedholm, Carl & Mead, Donald C., 1987. "Small Scale Industries in Developing Countries: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications," Food Security International Development Papers 54062, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    7. Anderson, Dennis & Leiserson, Mark W, 1980. "Rural Nonfarm Employment in Developing Countries," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 227-248, January.
    8. Hymer, Stephen H & Resnick, Stephen, 1969. "A Model of an Agrarian Economy with Nonagricultural Activities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(4), pages 493-506, Part I Se.
    9. Smyth, I., 1988. "Differentiation among petty commodity producers : the effects of a development project on handicrafts production in a Sundanese village (West Java - Indonesia)," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18886, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    10. Uribe-Echevarria, F., 1991. "Small-scale manufacturing and regional industrialization," ISS Working Papers - General Series 18820, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    11. Haggblade, Steven & Liedholm, Carl & Mead, Donald C., 1986. "The Effect of Policy and Policy Reforms on Non-Agricultural Enterprises and Employment in Developing Countries: A Review of Past Experiences," Food Security International Development Working Papers 54744, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    12. Hazell, Peter B. & Haggblade, Steven, 1990. "Rural - urban growth linkages in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 430, The World Bank.
    13. Meyer, Richard L, 1992. "Supporting Rural Non-Farm Enterprises: What Can be Learned from Donor Programs?," Philippine Journal of Development JPD 1992 Vol. XIX No. 2-e, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. 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.
    2. Deichmann, Uwe & Shilpi, Forhad & Vakis, Renos, 2009. "Urban Proximity, Agricultural Potential and Rural Non-farm Employment: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 645-660, March.
    3. Das Gupta, Monica & Grandvoinnet, Helene & Romani, Mattia, 2000. "State-community synergies in development : laying the basis for collective action," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2439, The World Bank.
    4. Reardon, Thomas, 1997. "Using evidence of household income diversification to inform study of the rural nonfarm labor market in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 735-747, May.
    5. Roehlano M. Briones, 2004. "Market Size, Differentiated Scale Economies and Interindustry Trade," International Trade 0412006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Haggblade, Steven & Hazell, Peter B., 1988. "Prospects for equitable growth in rural sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8, The World Bank.
    7. Bryceson, Deborah Fahy, 1996. "Deagrarianization and rural employment in sub-Saharan Africa: A sectoral perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 97-111, January.
    8. Barrett, Christopher B. & Reardon, Thomas, 2000. "Asset, Activity, And Income Diversification Among African Agriculturalists: Some Practical Issues," Working Papers 14734, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    9. Stein Kristiansen, 2003. "Linkages and Rural Non-Farm Employment Creation: Changing Challenges and Policies in Indonesia," Working Papers 03-22, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    10. Reardon, Thomas & Delgado, Christopher & Matlon, Peter, 1991. "Determinants And Effects Of Income Diversification Amongst Farm Households In Burkina Faso," 1991 Annual Meeting, August 4-7, Manhattan, Kansas 271276, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    11. Rijkers, Bob & Soderbom, Mans & Loening, Josef, 2009. "Mind the gap ? a rural-urban comparison of manufacturing firms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4946, The World Bank.
    12. Block, Steven A., 1999. "Agriculture and economic growth in Ethiopia: growth multipliers from a four-sector simulation model," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 241-252, May.
    13. Chiappori, Pierre-Andre, 1997. "Introducing Household Production in Collective Models of Labor Supply," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 191-209, February.
    14. Pham, Hung T, 2006. "Rural Nonfarm Employment Under Trade Reform Evidence From Vietnam, 1993-2002," MPRA Paper 6476, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Kasturi Sadhu & Saumya Chakrabarti, 2021. "Neo-Dualism: Accumulation, Distress, and Proliferation of a Fissured Informality," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(4), pages 694-724, December.
    16. Peter Lanjouw, 2007. "Rural Non-Farm Employment in India: Access, Income, farm, Poverty Impact," Working Papers id:913, eSocialSciences.
    17. Yifu Lin, Justin, 1999. "Technological change and agricultural household income distribution: theory and evidence from China," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 43(2), pages 1-16, June.
    18. Tulus Tambunan, 1994. "Long-term Development of Small-scale Industries in Relation to Economic Development: Looking for General Propositions," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 165-190.
    19. Mead, Donald C. & Liedholm, Carl, 1998. "The dynamics of micro and small enterprises in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 61-74, January.
    20. Koczberski, Gina & Curry, George N., 2005. "Making a living: Land pressures and changing livelihood strategies among oil palm settlers in Papua New Guinea," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 324-339, September.

    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:wbk:wbrwps:1463. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    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.