Off-farm employment,agriculture production activities,and household dietary diversity in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas of Asia

Access to off-farm employment has been expected to be a critical approach to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition,two important targets of achieving Zero Hunger.This study aims to investigate the role of off-farm employment in improving dietary diversity through substitution effect and complementary effect with agricultural production activities and income effect.This study adopts Poisson/Tobit/Probit/OLS regressions and the instrument variable method based on the primary survey data collected among 1,282 households at 12 sites in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas of China,Nepal,Cambodia,Thailand,and Myanmar in 2019.The results show that off-farm employment is positively associated with household dietary diversity and the consumption of flesh meat,fish and other aquatic animals,fruits,and milk and dairy products,which are rich in protein and micronutrients.The results of mechanism analysis show that off-farm employment contributes to household dietary diversity by improving crop diversity,especially for poor households,boosting the probability of livestock raising for households with the middle one-third disposal income,and increasing household income.The positive association between off-farm employment and household dietary diversity is much higher for households with the bottom one-third disposal income,low illiteracy,and from upper-middle income countries.These findings imply that off-farm employment does play a vital role in achieving multiple benefits of poverty alleviation,malnutrition reduction,and agrobiodiversity conservation in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas.However,it may enlarge the gaps in dietary diversity between households with low human capital and from low and lower-middle income countries and those with high human capital and from middle-high countries.

Off-farm employment and poverty alleviation in rural China

Two phenomena in the history of China's economic growth during the last four decades are the increase in the share of offfarm employment and the progress in poverty alleviation in rural China.Although both of them have been well documented in the literature,less is known about the linkage between the two.To better understand the role that off-farm employment has played in poverty alleviation in rural China is critically important not only for China but also for those countries that are trying to reduce poverty.Here,we examine the impact of off-farm employment on poverty alleviation in rural China.Using the data from two nationally representative household panel surveys(China National Rural Survey and China Rural Development Survey),this paper provides supporting evidence that off-farm employment contributes to poverty alleviation in rural China.Specifically,if household participation in off-farm employment increases by 10 percentage points,the likelihood for a nonpoor household to fall into poverty will decrease by 0.88 percentage point whereas the likelihood for a poor household to climb out of poverty will increase by 3.5 percentage points.In a word,off-employment can not only prevent rural residents to fall into poverty but also help those already in poverty climb out of it.

Does labor off-farm employment inevitably lead to land rent out?Evidence from China

The focus of land economics is on how to decrease the misallocation of resources to achieve an optimal allocation of resources. Both the theories of new economics of labor migration(NELM) and the conclusions of empirical studies reveal that land resources will inevitably be reallocated(e.g., rented out) if the resources of family labor are reallocated(e.g., off-farm employment). However, this study reveals that off-farm employment does not inevitably lead to land rent out. More precisely, this study uses survey data on 8031 peasant households from 27 provinces in China and explores the relationship between off-farm employment and land rent out by describing spatial features and through empirical analysis(e.g., IV-Probit model and IV-Tobit model). The results show the following: 1) There is an indirect relationship between off-farm employment and land rent out regarding spatial area aggregation, i.e., regions with a higher ratio of off-farm employment also have a lower area of land rent out. 2) Off-farm employment is significantly positively correlated with the behavior of land rent out, but its square is significantly negatively correlated with the behavior, i.e., there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between off-farm employment and the behavior of land rent out, with the turning point being 55.55% offfarm employment. 3) Off-farm employment is significantly positively correlated with the area of land rent out, but its square is significantly negatively correlated with the area, i.e., there is an inverted Ushaped relationship between off-farm employment and the area of land rent out, with the turning point being 56.22% off-farm employment. This study helps explain why China has a high ratio of off-farm employment but a lower rate of land rent out.

Childcare,Elderly Caring and Off-farm Employment of Rural Couples in China

Based on the representative sample survey data of more than 1 000 farmers in 101 villages of 25 counties of 5 provinces in China,within the framework of family collective decision-making,this paper studied the effects and heterogeneity of childcare and elderly caring on the off-farm employment mode of rural couples. It found that caring the children younger than 3 years old significantly reduces the possibility of offfarm employment of rural couples;conversely,if there is 60-80 years old member in the family,it will significantly increase the possibility of off-farm employment of rural couples or the wives. Caring the children above 12 years old or the elderly older than 80 years old reduces the possibility of off-farm employment of the husbands. Whether there is preschool education service facility in the village has no effect on the off-farm employment of the couples.

Childbearing or Working?——Impact of Childbirth on Rural Women's Interruption of Off-farm Employment

To assess the work interruption information and examine the correlation between childbirth and the off-farm employment interruption of rural women,this article collected 3 820 women's childbirth and employment information over the past 18 years( 1998-2015),using multivariate regression to explore the impact of female individual,family and employment characteristics on probability of employment interruption and duration of interruption. Results indicated that overall,40% of women got interrupted after childbirth in rural areas and the average duration of interruption was about four years. Human capital factors,such as their work experience,first childbirth age and education experience,influence the probability of employment interruption,but these factors do not extend the duration of interruption for women who got interrupted.It is concluded that increasing the human capital of rural women is helpful to increasing their labor force participation rate after childbirth.

The effects of local government investment on economic growth and employment: evidence from transitional China

Based on the panel data of 28 provinces in the year of 1987-2001, this paper examines the effects of the local government investment on economic growth and employment. The empirical result shows that the local government investment plays a signif icant positive role in economic growth and employment. However, while the proportion of local government investment to GDP had a remarkable rise after 1998, the elasticity of local government investment on economic growth declined, which shows that there is a big room for raising the eff iciency of local government investment. Moreover, the empirical examination shows that although local government investment had positive effect on employment, the elasticity had a decrease after 1994 when the tax-sharing system reform was put into practice. This shows that the positive role of local government investment on employment is also limited. This paper argues that the role of local governments as investors must be weakened, and local governments of different levels should lessen direct economic intervention and concentrate on public regulation.

地方高校大学生就业质量测度及其提升路径

解决大学生高质量充分就业的难点在于提升地方高校大学生就业质量。构建就业质量指标体系和测度模型是研究就业质量的基础。基于宏观数据及本地区地方高校调查数据,测度毕业生就业质量,结果表明:地方高校与非地方高校毕业生就业质量差距较大;男生比女生就业质量更高;高学历的就业质量显著更高;校园招聘的方式越来越成为提高就业质量的重要方式;党员就业质量在某些方面要高于非党员就业质量;沿海并不比本地就业质量更高。据此,提出了重视校园招聘平台、充分挖掘高校在本地资源,适度拓展家庭资源等地方高校大学生就业质量提升路径。

地方师范学院专业设置状况的实证研究

专业设置是高等教育长远发展的基础与核心。以70所地方师范学院的专业设置数据为研究基础,采用实证分析法,结果发现存在地方师范学院的师范专业数比例远低于非师范专业数,传统专业重复设置率高但就业率低,学科门类较全且专业群较为分散等现状,同时存在师范特色式微,区域内专业设置重复度高,部分专业布点零散等问题。针对以上现状与问题,提出改造升级传统师范专业,加强资源整合、促进专业建设,以及科学设置新专业等建议。

地方高校校友资源促进毕业生就业创业的路径

就业工作是高等教育中履行立德树人根本任务的重要环节。校友作为高校资源中的特殊资源,他们对于母校怀有浓厚的情感,对应届毕业生就业成长有着自身情感上的责任。以地方高校校友资源为研究对象,科学分析了校友资源促进毕业生就业创业的现状,提出了构建“学校-校友”情感沟通平台、发挥校友的榜样引领作用、制定和落实校友返校招聘激励机制等建议,以更好发挥高校校友资源促进毕业生就业创业的优势作用。

高校毕业生本地就业研究——以徐州工程学院为例

高校作为城市发展的“策源地”,其毕业生本地就业率的高低,关系到城市产业发展的高度和层次,关乎城市发展之未来。青年人才是推动城市地方产业优化升级的中坚力量,是中心城市建设的重要支撑,实现城市的高质量发展需要高度重视高校毕业生本地就业工作。而如何用足用好城市自身的高等教育资源,进一步提高高校毕业生本地就业率,加快把高教优势、人才优势转化为城市的发展优势和竞争优势,这一问题急需加以研究解决。且此项工作须常抓不懈,久久为功。

地方院校提升毕业生本地就业率路径研究——以马鞍山师范高等专科学校为例

运用访谈法、问卷调查法、数据分析法分析毕业生本地就业的现状、问题及影响因素,探索促进地方院校毕业生本地就业的路径,为政府、地方院校引导毕业生本地就业提供针对性的对策建议。

省属地方应用型本科院校女大学生就业困境与应对措施探讨——以山西工程技术学院为例

稳就业是民生之本,是民心工程,其中女大学生就业难题长期受到关注。以山西工程技术学院为例,调查分析了省属地方应用型本科院校女大学生就业相关问题。总体上呈现就业心态消极,求职动力不足;因性别受到差异对待;越来越多人参加“考研、考编”;自身的求职素质参差不齐等。其原因在于传统的社会观念与用人单位的刻板印象、学生自身的素质不足及对就业的期望值过高和省属地方型工科类院校自身条件的制约三个方面。对策:(一)学生方面提升自身综合能力;(二)学校方面优化培养方案,拓宽就业渠道;(三)社会方面加强关爱力度,给予全面支持。

Ecological Footprint Tax for the Development of Local Agribusiness

The concept of ecological footprint tax(EFT)can be developed to cover the whole economy,but as a first experimental step,this paper suggests to introduce it in agriculture and food industry.The EFT is expected to mitigate two of the greatest anxieties of people in developed and semi-developed world:(rural)unemployment and climate change.The proposed arctan relation between the ecological footprint of products and the tax to be paid would result in a fairer allocation of tax charges(rich big-consumers having to pay much higher tax than low-polluter average people),assure sustainability for both the ecosystem and local economy(the tax charge itself depending first of all on the distance a product is to be shipped to the customer),and allow a healthier diet(local production,reaching the customers within much shorter time period than imports,not having to be stuffed with preservatives).

编外用工:编制短缺背景下地方政府的能力补偿

机构编制是我国人事管理的重要制度,编外用工是在机构编制以外聘用,由财政负担保障的各类工作人员。当前地方政府的编外用工表面是“压力-能力”失衡情境下的人力资源管理问题,实质是更为复杂的治理制度问题。编制短缺是因制度性因素和地方政府“主动作为”而导致的人力供给相对不足,编外用工则是基于当前地方政府治理环境选择的一种补偿策略,较好地发挥了补偿行政管理和国家治理能力的特殊功能。在特定环境条件下产生发展的编外用工制度,将伴随环境条件的变化而改变,有可能会被更好的补偿方式所取代,也有可能因其赖以存在的条件消失而消亡。

服务地方发展视角下高职毕业生本地就业问题分析——以温州市高职院校为例

如何提高高职毕业生本地就业比例,把毕业生资源优势转化为经济社会发展优势,已成为中小城市经济高质量发展的一项紧迫而重要的命题。本研究通过分析温州3所高职院校2013—2021年毕业生就业数据,发现高职毕业生留温就业率呈现下降趋势,各生源地及不同专业的毕业生留温就业率存在差异。究其原因,受到城市经济发展吸引力不足、就业政策存在空白短板、民营企业不重视技能型人才、学校专业设置和就业服务不足、个人就业目标不明确等因素影响。文中提出城市发展特色新兴产业、政府优化就业政策、企业提供技能型人才发展平台、学校加强产教融合和就业服务、个人增强竞争力和服务社会意识等对策建议,以提高高职毕业生本地就业比率,为地方经济社会高质量发展提供强有力的人力资源支持。

地方应用型高校就业教育与专业教育融合现状及路径探究

为进一步了解大学生的就业教育现状和大学生能否适应社会发展趋势,清楚就业教育和专业教育的融合程度,选取地处滇黔桂交界处的地方应用型高校百色学院不同年级、不同专业的在校大学生为研究对象,通过网上随机在线问卷对其进行调研。结果显示,地方应用型高校专业教育和就业教育存在融合性不强、学生满意度较低、就业教育内容覆盖面较窄、模式比较单一等现象。对此,应从理念、师资、教材、课程、实践等方面融合着手,探索专业教育与就业教育相融合的路径。专业教育与就业教育的融合能帮助学生树立明确的职业生涯目标,激发学生学习专业知识的热情,提高学生的综合素质能力,拓宽学生的就业路径。

桐梓县促进新生代女性农民工本地就业的经验和模式分析

新冠肺炎疫情的暴发给农民工就业带来了巨大的冲击。新生代女性农民工作为未来就业市场中的重要组成部分,更容易受到疫情影响,也更倾向于本地就业。以贵州省桐梓县为例,梳理其促进新生代女性农民工本地就业的实践经验,从内部动力和外部支持的视角总结出桐梓县政府促进该县新生代女性农民工本地就业的模式。研究发现,此模式为基层政府促进本地就业具有良好的示范作用。

脱贫地区妇女本地就业与儿童营养--来自帮扶车间的经验证据

儿童时期的营养健康状况是持续影响个人成长、家庭发展和地区人力资本积累的重要因素。在夫妻双方合作议价的儿童营养决定作用框架下,基于脱贫地区帮扶车间中妇女本地就业的准实验设计和湖南、河北、广西三省的微观调查数据,实证分析妇女(母亲)本地就业对儿童营养摄取的影响及其作用机制,发现:妇女本地就业对儿童的日均能量和蛋白质摄入均具有显著的正向影响,但对儿童能量摄入改善更大;妇女本地就业分别对儿童在幼儿阶段的能量摄入和在小学阶段的蛋白质摄入改善更明显,而且营养改善效应并不存在明显的性别差异;从作用机制来看,妇女收入对儿童能量和蛋白质摄入存在显著的正向中介效应,家庭议价能力仅对儿童蛋白质摄入存在显著的正向中介效应,而时间照料的中介效应均不显著。脱贫地区在承接产业转移中应统筹考虑妇女劳动力就业与产业项目选择,在新型城镇化建设中逐步建立健全妇女就业市场,创造更多适合农村妇女工作的就业机会,提高妇女本地就业的能力和可行性,从而扩大妇女本地就业的正外部影响,从妇女就业帮扶的角度促进家庭能力建设。