IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v35y2007i12p2056-2078.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sri Lanka's Rural Non-Farm Economy: Removing Constraints to Pro-Poor Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Deininger, Klaus
  • Jin, Songqing
  • Sur, Mona

Abstract

We use a survey of small rural enterprises from Sri Lanka to demonstrate quantitatively the economic importance of this sector and to identify participants' characteristics and obstacles to the sector's expansion and productivity. Value added in the rural non-farm sector is estimated to amount to 80% of agricultural GDP and mean incomes for those having a rural enterprise to be about double of those who do not. Barriers to entry appear to be low and the impact of non-farm enterprise development on inequality modest and temporary, implying the potential for the sector to make a significant contribution to growth and poverty reduction. At the same time, infrastructure constraints (but not regulatory obstacles) pose a formidable barrier to startup of new enterprises and to investment and increased productivity by existing ones. The fact that such constraints emerge as particularly harmful for small enterprises suggests that policies to improve delivery of the public services in question will be important to provide a basis for a flourishing rural non-farm sector which in turn will have an important role for poverty reduction.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Sur, Mona, 2007. "Sri Lanka's Rural Non-Farm Economy: Removing Constraints to Pro-Poor Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2056-2078, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:35:y:2007:i:12:p:2056-2078
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(07)00151-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frank Ellis & H Ade Freeman, 2004. "Rural Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction Strategies in Four African Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(4), pages 1-30.
    2. Fafchamps, Marcel & Gunning, Jan Willem & Oostendorp, Remco, 2000. "Inventories and Risk in African Manufacturing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 861-893, October.
    3. Canagarajah, S. & Newman, C. & Bhattamishra, R., 2001. "Non-farm income, gender, and inequality: evidence from rural Ghana and Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 405-420, August.
    4. Shaw, Judith, 2004. "Microenterprise Occupation and Poverty Reduction in Microfinance Programs: Evidence from Sri Lanka," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1247-1264, July.
    5. Dollar, David & Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Mengistae, Taye, 2006. "Investment climate and international integration," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 1498-1516, September.
    6. Todaro, Michael P, 1969. "A Model for Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 138-148, March.
    7. Arne Bigsten & Mans Söderbom, 2006. "What Have We Learned from a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa?," World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 21(2), pages 241-265.
    8. Sirimal Abeyratne, 2004. "Economic Roots of Political Conflict: The Case of Sri Lanka," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1295-1314, August.
    9. Simon Johnson & John McMillan & Christopher Woodruff, 2002. "Property Rights and Finance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1335-1356, December.
    10. Benn Eifert & Alan Gelb & Vijaya Ramachandran, 2005. "Business Environment and Comparative Advantage in Africa: Evidence from the Investment Climate Data," Working Papers 56, Center for Global Development.
    11. Stijn Claessens & Luc Laeven, 2003. "Financial Development, Property Rights, and Growth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2401-2436, December.
    12. Wendy Carlin & Mark Schaffer & Paul Seabright, 2006. "Where are the Real Bottlenecks? A Lagrangian Approach to Identifying Constraints on Growth from Subjective Survey Data," CERT Discussion Papers 0604, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    13. Sleuwaegen, Leo & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2002. "Growth of firms in developing countries, evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 117-135, June.
    14. MartÌn Rama, 2003. "The Sri Lankan Unemployment Problem Revisited," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(3), pages 510-525, August.
    15. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1995. "Institutions And Economic Performance: Cross-Country Tests Using Alternative Institutional Measures," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(3), pages 207-227, November.
    16. 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.
    17. Samuel Munzele Maimbo & Richard H. Jr. Adams & Reena Aggarwal & Nikos Passas, 2005. "Migrant Labor Remittances in South Asia," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 7426, August.
    18. Soderbom, Mans & Teal, Francis, 2004. "Size and efficiency in African manufacturing firms: evidence from firm-level panel data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 369-394, February.
    19. 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.
    20. David Dollar & Craig Burnside, 2000. "Aid, Policies, and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 847-868, September.
    21. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    22. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2005. "Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 137-177, February.
    23. Escribano, Alvaro & Guasch, J. Luis, 2005. "Assessing the impact of the investment climate on productivity using firm-level data : methodology and the cases of Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3621, The World Bank.
    24. Reinikka, Ritva & Svensson, Jakob, 2002. "Coping with poor public capital," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 51-69, October.
    25. Bourguignon, Francois & Morrisson, Christian, 1998. "Inequality and development: the role of dualism," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 233-257.
    26. Zvi Griliches, 1996. "The Discovery of the Residual: A Historical Note," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 1324-1330, September.
    27. 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.
    28. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 1999. "Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 114(1), pages 83-116.
    29. Kikeri, Sunita & Kenyon,Thomas & Palmade, Vincent, 2006. "Reforming the investment climate : lessons for practitioners," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3986, The World Bank.
    30. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    31. Limao, Nuno & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Infrastructure, geographical disadvantage, and transport costs," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2257, The World Bank.
    32. Maloney, William F., 2004. "Informality Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1159-1178, July.
    33. Fei, John C H & Ranis, Gustav, 1969. "Economic Development in Historical Perspective," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(2), pages 286-400, May.
    34. McPherson, Michael A., 1996. "Growth of micro and small enterprises in southern Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 253-277, March.
    35. Justin van der Sluis & Mirjam van Praag & Wim Vijverberg, 2005. "Entrepreneurship Selection and Performance: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Education in Developing Economies," World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 19(2), pages 225-261.
    36. Lanjouw, Peter, 2001. "Nonfarm Employment and Poverty in Rural El Salvador," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 529-547, March.
    37. de Janvry, Alain & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2000. "Rural poverty in Latin America: Determinants and exit paths," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 389-409, August.
    38. Reardon, Thomas & Berdegue, Julio & Escobar, German, 2001. "Rural Nonfarm Employment and Incomes in Latin America: Overview and Policy Implications," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 395-409, March.
    39. Singh, Inderjit & Squire, Lyn & Strauss, John, 1986. "A Survey of Agricultural Household Models: Recent Findings and Policy Implications," World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 1(1), pages 149-179, September.
    40. Hallward-Driemeier, Mary & Wallsten, Scott & Lixin Colin Xu, 2003. "The investment climate and the firm : firm-level evidence from China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3003, The World Bank.
    41. Kung, James K S & Lee, Yiu-fai, 2001. "So What If There Is Income Inequality? The Distributive Consequence of Nonfarm Employment in Rural China," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(1), pages 19-46, October.
    42. World Bank & International Finance Corporation, 2006. "Doing Business 2007 : How to Reform," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 7245, August.
    43. Subramanian, Uma & Anderson, William P. & Lee, Kihoon, 2005. "Measuring the impact of the investment climate on total factor productivity : the cases of China and Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3792, The World Bank.
    44. Thomas Reardon & J. Edward Taylor & Kostas Stamoulis & Peter Lanjouw & Arsenio Balisacan, 2000. "Effects of Non-Farm Employment on Rural Income Inequality in Developing Countries: An Investment Perspective," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 266-288.
    45. Zvi Griliches, 1996. "The Discovery of the Residual: A Historical Note," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 1324-1330, September.
    46. Ihrig, Jane & Moe, Karine S., 2004. "Lurking in the shadows: the informal sector and government policy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 541-557, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tidiane Kinda & Josef Loening, 2010. "Small Enterprise Growth and the Rural Investment Climate: Evidence from Tanzania," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 22(1), pages 173-207.
    2. Neil McCulloch & C. Peter Timmer & Julian Weisbrod, 2007. "Pathways Out of Poverty During an Economic Crisis: An Empirical Assessment of Rural Indonesia," Working Papers 115, Center for Global Development.
    3. Rijkers, Bob & Söderbom, Måns & Loening, Josef L., 2010. "A Rural-Urban Comparison of Manufacturing Enterprise Performance in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 1278-1296, September.
    4. World Bank, 2007. "Sri Lanka - Poverty Assessment : Engendering Growth with Equity, Opportunities and Challenges," World Bank Other Operational Studies 8050, The World Bank.
    5. 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.
    6. Loening, Josef & Rijkers, Bob & Soderbom, Mans, 2008. "Nonfarm microenterprise performance and the investment climate : evidence from rural Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4577, The World Bank.
    7. Rijkers, Bob & Costa, Rita, 2012. "Gender and Rural Non-Farm Entrepreneurship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(12), pages 2411-2426.
    8. Khandker, Shahidur R. & Samad, Hussain A. & Ali, Rubaba, 2013. "Does access to finance matter in microenterprise growth ? evidence from Bangladesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6333, The World Bank.
    9. Rijkers, Bob & Söderbom, Måns, 2013. "The Effects of Risk and Shocks on Non-Farm Enterprise Development in Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 119-136.
    10. Aditi Bhattacharyya & Daisy Das & Arkadipta Ghosh, 2017. "Electrification and Welfare of Poor Households in Rural India," Working Papers 1702, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    11. Rao, Narasimha D., 2013. "Does (better) electricity supply increase household enterprise income in India?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 532-541.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:wdevel:v:35:y:2007:i:12:p:2056-2078. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Dana Niculescu). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    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 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.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.