IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zbw/espost/156391.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Persistence of full- and part-time farming in Southern China

Author

Listed:
  • Brosig, Stephan
  • Glauben, Thomas
  • Herzfeld, Thomas
  • Wang, Xiaobing

Abstract

The goal of this study is to assess the dynamics of rural households' labor market participation in the wake of China's efforts to develop rural labor markets in a manner that is conducive to its transition to a market economy. Based on a theoretical model that emphasizes the impact of duration, i.e. of the number of years households spent part-time farming or full-time farming, respectively, we investigate the shifts between these two states. We also identify socioeconomic factors that determine these shifts. The empirical study is based on discrete time hazard approaches, using micro-level panel data from Zhejiang, Hubei, and Yunnan provinces from 1995 to 2002. Estimation results suggest relatively high chances of shifts from full-time to part-time farming and a considerable lower risk for the shift in the opposite direction. Significant negative duration dependence is found for the move from full-time to part-time farming suggesting lock-in effects. In addition, we find that labor market participation decisions are significantly related to several household, farm and village characteristics. In particular, the likelihood of shifts from full-time farming to part-time farming is positively related to the educational level of households' workforce.

Suggested Citation

  • Brosig, Stephan & Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Wang, Xiaobing, 2009. "Persistence of full- and part-time farming in Southern China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 20(2), pages 360-371.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:156391
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/156391/1/Brosig_2009_Farming_Southern_China.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bowlus, Audra J. & Sicular, Terry, 2003. "Moving toward markets? Labor allocation in rural China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 561-583, August.
    2. Sorm, Vit & Terrell, Katherine, 2000. "Sectoral Restructuring and Labor Mobility: A Comparative Look at the Czech Republic," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 431-455, September.
    3. Liu, Shouying & Carter, Michael R. & Yao, Yang, 1998. "Dimensions and diversity of property rights in rural China: Dilemmas on the road to further reform," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(10), pages 1789-1806, October.
    4. A Corsi & JL Findeis, 2000. "True state dependence and heterogeneity in off-farm labour participation," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 27(2), pages 127-151, June.
    5. Zhang, Linxiu & Rozelle, Scott & Huang, Jikun, 2001. "Off-Farm Jobs and On-Farm Work in Periods of Boom and Bust in Rural China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 505-526, September.
    6. Blau, David M. & Riphahn, Regina T., 1999. "Labor force transitions of older married couples in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 229-252, June.
    7. Jenkins, Stephen P, 1995. "Easy Estimation Methods for Discrete-Time Duration Models," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(1), pages 129-138, February.
    8. Brosig, Stephan & Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Rozelle, Scott & Wang, Xiaobing, 2007. "The dynamics of Chinese rural households' participation in labor markets," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 37(2-3), pages 167-178.
    9. Benjamin, Dwayne & Brandt, Loren, 1997. "Land, Factor Markets, and Inequality in Rural China: Historical Evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 460-494, October.
    10. Qingjie Xia & Colin Simmons, 2004. "The Determinants of Labour-time Allocation between Farm and Off-farm Work in Rural China: the Case of Liaoning Province," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(2), pages 169-184.
    11. Gunnar Breustedt & Thomas Glauben, 2007. "Driving Forces behind Exiting from Farming in Western Europe," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 115-127, February.
    12. de Brauw, Alan & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott & Zhang, Linxiu & Zhang, Yigang, 2002. "The Evolution of China's Rural Labor Markets During the Reforms," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 329-353, June.
    13. Michael R. Carter & Yang Yao, 2002. "Local versus Global Separability in Agricultural Household Models: The Factor Price Equalization Effect of Land Transfer Rights," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(3), pages 702-715.
    14. Catherine Benjamin & Euan Phimister, 2002. "Does Capital Market Structure Affect Farm Investment? A Comparison using French and British Farm-Level Panel Data," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(4), pages 1115-1129.
    15. Brian W. Gould & William E. Saupe, 1989. "Off-Farm Labor Market Entry and Exit," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 71(4), pages 960-969.
    16. SHI, Xiaoping & Heerink, Nico & Qu, Futian, 2007. "Choices between different off-farm employment sub-categories: An empirical analysis for Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 438-455.
    17. Wang, Xiaobing & Herzfeld, Thomas & Glauben, Thomas, 2007. "Labor allocation in transition: Evidence from Chinese rural households," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 287-308.
    18. Appleton, Simon & Knight, John & Song, Lina & Xia, Qingjie, 2002. "Labor retrenchment in China: Determinants and consequences," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 252-275.
    19. Linxiu Zhang & Jikun Huang & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "Emploi, nouveaux marchés du travail, et rôle de l'éducation dans la Chine rurale," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 10(3), pages 191-212.
    20. Chan, Sewin & Stevens, Ann Huff, 2001. "Job Loss and Employment Patterns of Older Workers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(2), pages 484-521, April.
    21. Ayal Kimhi, 2006. "Plot size and maize productivity in Zambia: is there an inverse relationship?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 35(1), pages 1-9, July.
    22. Giles, John, 2006. "Is life more risky in the open? Household risk-coping and the opening of China's labor markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 25-60, October.
    23. Teresa Serra & Barry K. Goodwin & Allen M. Featherstone, 2004. "Determinants of investments in non‐farm assets by farm households," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 64(1), pages 17-32, May.
    24. Singh, Inderjit & Squire, Lyn & Strauss, John, 1986. "A Survey of Agricultural Household Models: Recent Findings and Policy Implications," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 1(1), pages 149-179, September.
    25. Ayal Kimhi, 2000. "Is Part-Time Farming Really a Step in the Way Out of Agricultural?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(1), pages 38-48.
    26. Andrew P. Barkley, 1990. "The Determinants of the Migration of Labor out of Agriculture in the United States, 1940–85," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 72(3), pages 567-573.
    27. Luka Juvančič & Emil Erjavec, 2005. "Intertemporal analysis of employment decisions on agricultural holdings in Slovenia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(2), pages 153-161, September.
    28. Stephan J. Goetz & David L. Debertin, 2001. "Why Farmers Quit: A County-Level Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(4), pages 1010-1023.
    29. Chaplin, Hannah & Davidova, Sophia & Gorton, Matthew, 2003. "Agricultural Adjustment And The Diversification Of Farm Households In Central Europe," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25843, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    30. Nakamura, Alice & Nakamura, Masao, 1985. "Dynamic models of the labor force behavior of married women which can be estimated using limited amounts of past information," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 273-298, March.
    31. Hanan G. Jacoby & Guo Li & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "Hazards of Expropriation: Tenure Insecurity and Investment in Rural China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1420-1447, December.
    32. Meyer, Bruce D, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Spells," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 757-782, July.
    33. Nigel Key & Elisabeth Sadoulet & Alain De Janvry, 2000. "Transactions Costs and Agricultural Household Supply Response," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(2), pages 245-259.
    34. Chen, Zhuo & Huffman, Wallace E. & Rozelle, Scott, 2004. "Migration And Local Off-Farm Working In Rural China," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20075, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    35. Fan, Shenggen & Zhang, Linxiu & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2002. "Growth, inequality, and poverty in rural China: the role of public investments," Research reports 125, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    36. Marcel Fafchamps, 2002. "Returns to social network capital among traders," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(2), pages 173-206, April.
    37. Marcel Fafchamps, 1992. "Cash Crop Production, Food Price Volatility, and Rural Market Integration in the Third World," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 74(1), pages 90-99.
    38. de Janvry, Alain & Fafchamps, Marcel & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 1991. "Peasant Household Behaviour with Missing Markets: Some Paradoxes Explained," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(409), pages 1400-1417, November.
    39. Jeremy D. Foltz, 2004. "Entry, Exit, and Farm Size: Assessing an Experiment in Dairy Price Policy," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(3), pages 594-604.
    40. Weiss, Christoph R, 1997. "Do They Come Back Again? The Symmetry and Reversibility of Off-Farm Employment," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 24(1), pages 65-84.
    41. Huffman, Wallace E., 1991. "Agricultural Household Models: Survey and Critique," Staff General Research Papers Archive 11008, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    42. de Janvry, Alain & Fafchamps, M. & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 1991. "Peasant Household Behavior with Missing Markets: Some Paradoxes Explain," CUDARE Working Papers 198579, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    43. Meitzen, Mark E, 1986. "Differences in Male and Female Job-quitting Behavior," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(2), pages 151-167, April.
    44. Sarah Cook, 1999. "Surplus labour and productivity in Chinese agriculture: Evidence from household survey data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 16-44.
    45. Israel Finkelshtain & James A. Chalfant, 1991. "Marketed Surplus under Risk: Do Peasants Agree with Sandmo?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(3), pages 557-567.
    46. Orazem, Peter & Vodopivec, Milan, 1997. "Value of Human Capital in Transition Market: Evidence from Slovenia September 1996," Staff General Research Papers Archive 5126, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    47. Bradley, Steve & Crouchley, Rob & Oskrochi, Reza, 2003. "Social exclusion and labour market transitions: a multi-state multi-spell analysis using the BHPS," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 659-679, December.
    48. Orazem, Peter F. & Vodopivec, Milan, 1997. "Value of human capital in transition to market: Evidence from Slovenia," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 893-903, April.
    49. Zhao, Yaohui, 2002. "Causes and Consequences of Return Migration: Recent Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 376-394, June.
    50. Farber, Henry S., 1999. "Mobility and stability: The dynamics of job change in labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 37, pages 2439-2483, Elsevier.
    51. Kung, James Kai-sing, 2002. "Off-Farm Labor Markets and the Emergence of Land Rental Markets in Rural China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 395-414, June.
    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. Wei Xiao & Mingqin Wu, 2021. "Life-cycle factors and entrepreneurship: evidence from rural China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 2017-2040, December.
    2. Jia, Lili, 2012. "Land fragmentation and off-farm labor supply in China," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 66, number 66, September.
    3. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Xia, Fang & Huang, Jikun, 2014. "Moving Off the Farm: Land Institutions to Facilitate Structural Transformation and Agricultural Productivity Growth in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 505-520.
    4. Zhang, Yanjie & Wang, Xiaobing & Brümmer, Bernhard & Yu, Xiaohua, 2012. "The impact of land security and input allocation on farm household income," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126467, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Hoken, Hisatoshi, 2017. "Development of off-farm employment and its determinants in rural China," IDE Discussion Papers 633, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    6. Shahzad, Muhammad Abid & Fischer, Christian, 2021. "The State of Other Gainful Activities in European Union-27: An Empirical Analysis of Trends and Determinant Factors," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315226, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Yinyin Cai & Yew-Kwang Ng, 2014. "Part-Peasants: Incomplete Rural–Urban Labour Migration in China," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 401-422, October.
    8. Bouchakour, Radhia & Saad, Mohammed, 2020. "Farm and farmer characteristics and off-farm work: evidence from Algeria," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 64(2), April.

    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. Wang, Xiaobing, 2007. "Labor market behavior of Chinese rural households during transition," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 42, number 92321, September.
    2. Brosig, Stephan & Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Rozelle, Scott & Wang, Xiaobing, 2007. "The dynamics of Chinese rural households' participation in labor markets," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 37(2-3), pages 167-178.
    3. Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Wang, Xiaobing, 2008. "Labor market participation of Chinese agricultural households: Empirical evidence from Zhejiang province," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 329-340, August.
    4. Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Wang, Xiaobing, 2005. "Labor Market Participation of Chinese Agricultural Households," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24516, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Wang, Xiaobing & Herzfeld, Thomas & Glauben, Thomas, 2007. "Labor allocation in transition: Evidence from Chinese rural households," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 287-308.
    6. Jia, Lili, 2012. "Land fragmentation and off-farm labor supply in China," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 66, number 66, September.
    7. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing & Xia, Fang & Huang, Jikun, 2014. "Moving Off the Farm: Land Institutions to Facilitate Structural Transformation and Agricultural Productivity Growth in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 505-520.
    8. Tocco, Barbara & Davidova, Sophia & Bailey, Alastair Creation-Date: 2012-02, "undated". "Key Issues in Agricultural Labour Markets: A Review of Major Studies and Project Reports on Agriculture and Rural Labour Markets," Factor Markets Working Papers 126, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    9. Jia, Lili & Petrick, Martin, 2014. "How does land fragmentation affect off-farm labor supply: panel data evidence from China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 45(3), pages 369-380.
    10. Jia, Lili & Petrick, Martin, 2011. "How land fragmentation affects off-farm labor supply in China: Evidence from household panel data," 51st Annual Conference, Halle, Germany, September 28-30, 2011 114522, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    11. Corsi, Alessandro & Salvioni, Cristina, 2017. "Once part-timer always part-timer? Causes for persistence in off farm work state of farmers," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 6(2), September.
    12. SHI, Xiaoping & Heerink, Nico & Qu, Futian, 2007. "Choices between different off-farm employment sub-categories: An empirical analysis for Jiangxi Province, China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 438-455.
    13. Henning, Christian H.C.A. & Henningsen, Arne, 2005. "Modeling Price Response of Farm Households Under Imperfect Labor Markets: A Farm Household Approach to Family Farms in Poland," 94th Seminar, April 9-10, 2005, Ashford, UK 24431, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Grosjean, Pauline & Kontoleon, Andreas, 2009. "How Sustainable are Sustainable Development Programs? The Case of the Sloping Land Conversion Program in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 268-285, January.
    15. Jin‐Tao Zhan & Yan‐Rui Wu & Xiao‐Hui Zhang & Zhang‐Yue Zhou, 2012. "Why do farmers quit from grain production in China? Causes and implications," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 342-362, August.
    16. Glauben, Thomas & Herzfeld, Thomas & Loy, Jens-Peter & Renner, Swetlana & Hockmann, Heinrich, 2012. "The impact of fiscal policies on agricultural household decisions," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 166-177.
    17. Castro Campos, Bente, 2013. "Human capital differences or labor market discrimination? The occupational outcomes of ethnic minorities in rural Guizhou (China)," Studies on the Agricultural and Food Sector in Transition Economies, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), volume 73, number 73, September.
    18. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing, 2005. "The potential of land rental markets in the process of economic development: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 241-270, October.
    19. Deininger, Klaus & Jin, Songqing, 2007. "Land rental markets in the process of rural structural transformation : productivity and equity impacts in China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4454, The World Bank.
    20. Zhang, Linxiu & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2002. "Employment, emerging labor markets, and the role of education in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 313-328.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Farm household; Labor market participation; Full-time farming; Off-farm employment; Hazard analysis; Dynamics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • 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
    • J43 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Agricultural Labor Markets
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

    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:zbw:espost:156391. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zbwkide.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.