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Ganyu Labour in Malawi: Understanding Rural Households’ Labour Supply Strategies

Author

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  • Dimowa, Ralitza
  • Michaelowa, Katharina
  • Weber, Anke

Abstract

In Malawi, informal off-farm labour (ganyu) has often been described as a survival strategy which eventually drives poor rural households into even further destitution. Based on data from the Second Integrated Household Survey for 2004, we estimate the determinants of the decision to supply labour in the ganyu market and the amount of labour supplied. Our results do not support the conjecture that ganyu is necessarily a low-return strategy that confines subsistence constrained households to a vicious circle of poverty. However, we do find evidence that ganyu is used as an ex-post coping strategy in the event of shocks, and as an ex-ante social insurance mechanism. Moreover, we generally find a positive reaction of ganyu supply to an increase in the ganyu wages, and no evidence of any backward bending segment of the supply curve for households close to the subsistence level. While ganyu does not appear to drive poor households into further destitution, these households do seem to suffer the most when they face demand side constraints in times of greatest needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Dimowa, Ralitza & Michaelowa, Katharina & Weber, Anke, 2010. "Ganyu Labour in Malawi: Understanding Rural Households’ Labour Supply Strategies," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Hannover 2010 29, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:gdec10:29
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dimova, Ralitza & Gbakou, Monnet, 2013. "The Global Food Crisis: Disaster, Opportunity or Non-event? Household Level Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 185-196.
    2. Krah, Kwabena & Michelson, Hope & Perge, Emilie & Jindal, Rohit, 2019. "Constraints to adopting soil fertility management practices in Malawi: A choice experiment approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Sarah Ephrida Tione, 2020. "Agricultural Resources and Trade Strategies: Response to Falling Land-to-Labor Ratios in Malawi," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-32, December.
    4. Günther Fink & B. Kelsey Jack & Felix Masiye, 2020. "Seasonal Liquidity, Rural Labor Markets, and Agricultural Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(11), pages 3351-3392, November.
    5. Fitzsimons, Emla & Malde, Bansi & Mesnard, Alice & Vera-Hernández, Marcos, 2016. "Nutrition, information and household behavior: Experimental evidence from Malawi," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 113-126.
    6. Guiteras, Raymond P. & Jack, B. Kelsey, 2018. "Productivity in piece-rate labor markets: Evidence from rural Malawi," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 42-61.
    7. Meyer, Jessica, 2023. "How do forests contribute to food security following a weather shock? Evidence from Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. Günther Fink & B. Kelsey Jack & Felix Masiye, 2014. "Seasonal Credit Constraints and Agricultural Labor Supply: Evidence from Zambia," NBER Working Papers 20218, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Hiroko Gono & Tsutomu Takane & Dickson Mazibuko, 2023. "Casual Wage Labour, Food Security, and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Malawi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-25, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    rural labor supply; insurance strategies; poverty; Malawi;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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