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Nonfarm Work and Income Smoothing Among Domestic Farmworkers

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  • Rutledge, Zachariah
  • McGrady, Clare

Abstract

Historically, farmers in the United States (US) have relied on a highly elastic supply of low-wage labor from rural Mexico. However, recent studies show that the supply of farmworkers from rural Mexico has been decreasing. In this study, we use data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey to identify factors that are linked to farmworkers’ likelihood of shifting to nonfarm work and whether non-farm employment is serving as an income smoothing strategy for seasonal farmworkers. We find evidence of a recent upward pre-COVID trend in farmworkers’ probability of working in nonfarm occupations and that this trend has reversed since the pandemic. Farm- workers who are male and have more extensive off-farm networks, higher educational attainment, legal documentation, or are migrants tend to have a higher probability of recently working in a nonfarm occupation. We also find that nonfarm work is linked to higher annual earnings, suggesting that farmworkers who diversify their employment between farm and nonfarm employment are able to use nonfarm employment as an income smoothing strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Rutledge, Zachariah & McGrady, Clare, 2025. "Nonfarm Work and Income Smoothing Among Domestic Farmworkers," 2025 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 3-5, 2025, San Francisco, CA 359269, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:assa25:359269
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.359269
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Diane Charlton & J. Edward Taylor, 2016. "A Declining Farm Workforce: Analysis of Panel Data from Rural Mexico," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(4), pages 1158-1180.
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    3. Maoyong Fan & Susan Gabbard & Anita Alves Pena & Jeffrey M. Perloff, 2015. "Why Do Fewer Agricultural Workers Migrate Now?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 97(3), pages 665-679.
    4. Richards, Timothy J., "undated". "Immigration Reform and Farm Labor Markets," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274165, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Hashida, Emiko & Perloff, Jeffrey M, 1996. "The effects of work histories on agricultural wages," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt6md2g0z1, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    6. David Card & Ethan G. Lewis, 2007. "The Diffusion of Mexican Immigrants during the 1990s: Explanations and Impacts," NBER Chapters, in: Mexican Immigration to the United States, pages 193-228, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Charlton, Diane & Taylor, J. Edward & Vougioukas, Stavros & Rutledge, Zachariah, . "Can Wages Rise Quickly Enough to Keep Workers in the Fields?," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 34(2).
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