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Household Livelihood Strategies and Forest Resource Use in Rural West Bengal, India

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  • Promita Mukherjee
  • Biswajit Ray

Abstract

The economic contributions of forest resources to the well-being of rural households are enormous. However, the level of forest benefits and degree of forest reliance vary across households. Drawing on a sustainable livelihood framework, this article explores how these forest resource uses correlate to the choice of livelihood strategies of rural forest-dependent households with a specific focus on the increased income of households, filling income shortfall, coping with shocks and livelihood diversification. Data were collected from 407 rural forest-dependent households in West Bengal, India. Based on the share of forest income in total household income, households were classified into different livelihood strategy groups. One-way ANOVA was run to test the income differences among these groups. The forest extractive strategy was found least income-generating of all livelihood strategies. Multinomial logit regression was carried out to identify the asset-based explanatory variables that influence livelihood strategy choices and forest dependency of the studied households. Analyses show that households’ differential access to or endowment of livelihood assets determines the choice of a rural household’s livelihood strategy and that forest resource uses of the households are livelihood strategy driven. Asset-poor households should be given opportunities to pursue livelihood activities with higher economic returns. JEL Classifications: Q23, Q56, Q57

Suggested Citation

  • Promita Mukherjee & Biswajit Ray, 2026. "Household Livelihood Strategies and Forest Resource Use in Rural West Bengal, India," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 14(1), pages 46-76, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:miceco:v:14:y:2026:i:1:p:46-76
    DOI: 10.1177/23210222241228070
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

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