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.

Inquiry into Problems of Farmers' Employment under the Condition of Land Transfer

This paper emphasizes the urgency of solving the problems of farmers' employment under the condition of land transfer,indicating that solving the problems of farmers' employment is the necessary requirement of land transfer,the actual requirement of constructing well-off society comprehensively,and the objective requirement of transforming developmental model.The characteristics of the problems of farmers' employment under the condition of land transfer are as follows:the rural surplus labor forces increase,and the ubiquitous unemployment is urgent;the employment room of farmers is narrow,and the structural unemployment is serious;the ability of farmers' employment is poor,and recessive unemployment has a large proportion;the situation of farmers' employment is not so sanguine,and the policy unemployment is frequent.This paper points out the causes of farmers' employment problems under the situation of land transfer as follows:in terms of analysis of subjective factors,farmers' self-employment ability is yet to be underpinned;in terms of analysis of objective factors,the relevant mechanism of government is unsound.Finally,corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are put forward as follows:establish the mechanism of farmer traceability analysis under the condition of land transfer;strengthen the training of farmers' skills;reinforce the publicity and education of farmers' employment concept;promote the process of urbanization and construct the employment vehicle of farmers;adjust the industrial structure in rural areas and expand the internal employment in rural areas;improve macro regulation and improve the employment environment for farmers.

Analysis on the Employment of Landless Farmers during the Reconstruction of Urban Village: A Case Study of S Village in Shaanxi Province

The re-employment of landless farmers in reconstruction of urban village is an important way to solve the problems concerning farmers. In S Village of Shaanxi Province,the landless farmers are facing the employment problems such as low re-employment rate and quality,lack of employment competitiveness,and weak employment willingness. This paper analyzes the main factors influencing the employment of landless farmers in this urban village such as local government's lack of overall design on the employment of landless farmers,landless farmers' lack of long-term employment concept,poor employment conditions,and lack of vocational education in rural areas. Finally some recommendations are set forth to enhance the employment of landless farmers in S Village: strengthening the institutional support for the employment of landless farmers; perfecting the fund guarantee for the employment of landless farmers; actively expanding the employment channels; enhancing the employability of landless farmers.

Correlation between Employment Quality and Skill Training of Land-expropriated Farmers

Based on field survey,an empirical analysis was made on the correlation between employment quality and skill training of landexpropriated farmers. The analysis indicated that there are differences in employment opportunity,employment sector,employment ability,wage income and employment stability between land-expropriated farmers. Besides,though skill training,it is feasible to effectively improve employment quality of land-expropriated farmers. The skill training exerts a significant effect on employment and urban adaptation of land-expropriated farmers. The mode of skill training promoting employment quality was proposed. Skill training can raise human resource level of land-expropriated farmers,and increase their labor and employment skills,to help them realize regular employment and smoothly become citizens. For fund sources for skill training,government and land expropriation unit should bring into play active role. And skill training should be undertaken under the guidance of government and support of land expropriation unit.

Analysis of the Impact of Off-farm Employment of Agricultural Labor on Grain Production in Shandong Province and Henan Province

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the impact of off-farm employment of agricultural labor on grain production. [Method] Impact of off-farm employment of agricultural labor on grain production was investigated based on path analysis by using data from 200 counties and cities in Shandong Province and Henan Province in 2000 and 2008. [Result] Off-farm employment of agricultural labor affects grain production through agricultural land use patterns, off-farm employment of agricultural labor has negative impacts on grain production through multiple cropping index and positive impacts through the proportion of grain planting area. The positive impacts were greater in 2008. [Conclusion] Prerequisite of the positive impacts of off-farm employment on grain production is the substitution of agricultural mechanization development and agricultural technology advancement for agricultural labor. Orderly land circulation and scale land use should be promoted to avoid the lack of agricultural labor due to off-farm employment.

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.

Employed Farmers in the Pearl River Delta and Related Issues

As a special weak group in agricultural floating population,employed farmers make special historic contribution to socio-economic development of the Pearl River Delta.However,employed farmers are faced with survival difficulties,which lead to a series of social issues.From historical origin,current situations and social issues,we put forward countermeasures to solve problems of employed farmers:solve the household registration of employed farmers;raise the compensation standard of land expropriation and demolition;cancel the admission threshold;provide reemployment guidance;and establish management funds of employed farmers.

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.

Problems and Solutions of Protecting Rights and Interests of Land-expropriated farmers during Urbanization--A Case Study of Henan Province

This paper discusses existing problems in protecting rights and interests of land-expropriated farmers' during urbanization,such as those farmers' failure to obtain benefits from land increment,difficult employment and imperfect social security system.Reasons for losses of farmers' rights and interests mainly include defects in land management and expropriation system,and uncoordinated development of urbanization and industrialization.However,the basic reason is urban and rural dual economic structure.On the basis of these situations,it puts forward solutions to protecting rights and interests of land-expropriated farmers:let land-expropriated farmers share land-increment benefits from land marketization;establish effective employment security system and perfect social security system,to make land-expropriated farmers share supply of public goods equal between rural and urban areas,and realize the inclusive growth balancing urban and rural areas.

Influential Factors in Employment Location Selection Based on “Push-Pull” Migration Theory—A Case Study in Three Gorges Reservoir Area in China

In China, farmers employed in non-farm work have become important socio-economic actors, but few studies have examined the farmers' perspective in making their work location choices. Based on "push-pull" migration theory, this paper utilizes sectional data from a 2013 survey of farmers in China's Three Gorges Reservoir area to empirically analyze the factors influencing migrant workers' choice of employment location. The results indicate that 60.46% of laborers have migrated from their home province, whereas 39.54% have remained in their home province. Focusing on personal, household, and community characteristics—in addition to the economic characteristics of the sample counties—multinomial logistic regression models reveal that farmer-laborers' employment location decisions are influenced by their personal capital endowment(age, years of education and social networks), family structure(the number of laborers, elders, children and students), home village characteristics(location, economic development level and the degree of relief of the land) and home county economic development level. Notably, male and female laborers' location decisions reveal a converging trend, and their differences are not pronounced. Per capita arable land area has little influence on location decisions, whereas the educational level of laborers has a significant impact. The results differ significantly from those found in previous studies.

How China's Grain-for-Green Project Contributes to Farmers' Income Growth

Initially intended to prevent water and soil erosion, China＇s Grain-for-Green Project （GGP） also has had economic impacts on farmers＇incorne and employment. Based on the poverty monitoring survey data between 2006-2010 from National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）, this paper evaluates the GGP＇s policy effects with respect to farmers＇ income, non-agricultural employment and poverty alleviation. Our findings suggest that contributing to the GGP, farmers＇ income including GGP subsidies increased significantly compared with the pre-GGP level,＂ however, if GGP subsidies are not taken into account, the increase in farmers＇non-agricultural income after the GGP could only compensate.for the income losses from farmland reduction, showing an insignificant effect. Second, there exist significant differences on employment tendency among GGP households. High-income households tend to engage in operation business in forestry, livestock and fishery activities, while medium-income families are more inclined to seek employment outside, and the differences attribute to the inter-group intrinsic characteristics. Lastly, the GGP＇s poverty alleviation effect varies with the difference in poverty standard. Overall the GGP＇s poverty alleviation effect is significant.

How farmers’non-agricultural employment affects rural land circulation in China?

To clarify the impact of non-agricultural employment on rural land circulation in China,we built logit models using the Chinese Household Income Project 2013 dataset,which includes 18,948 household samples over 15 provinces,126 cities and 234 counties of China in 2013.We use the proportion of non-agricultural income,the proportion of non-agricultural laborers and non-agricultural fixed operating assets to reflect the degree of the households’dependence on agriculture,the degree of the households’laborers committed to non-agricultural employment and the stability of non-agricultural employment,respectively.The results show that the stability of non-agricultural employment is an important reason for farmers to transfer out their land,and an increase in non-agricultural income is the fundamental reason.The proportion of non-agricultural assets has the greatest impact on the decision to transfer land,followed by the proportion of non-agricultural income.Per unit increase in the non-agricultural income ratio has a stronger effect on the transfer-out decision than it does on the transfer-in decision,which is a 0.09 increase of the probability of transfer-out the land and a 0.07 decrease of the probability of transfer-in the land.In terms of regional differences,when considering the impact of non-agricultural employment on the land transfer-out decision,the impacts of non-agricultural income and labor force are the greatest in the Central region.The impact of non-agricultural assets is the greatest in the Eastern region.For the Eastern region,the decision to transfer out land is mainly affected by non-agricultural assets and the non-agricultural labor force,and the decision to transfer in land is mainly affected by non-agricultural assets.In the Central and Western regions,the decision to transfer out land is mainly affected by non-agricultural assets,non-agricultural income and the non-agricultural labor force,in that order.The decision to transfer in land in the Central region is not significantly affected by non-agricultural employment.The decision to transfer in land in the Western region is mainly affected by non-agricultural assets,non-agricultural labor force and non-agricultural income,in that order.We note that non-agricultural assets have a prominent impact on land transfer,which shows that the stability of non-agricultural employment has an important impact on land transfer decision-making.Vocational training for rural labor forces may be an effective means to promote stable non-agricultural employment and simultaneously facilitate rural land circulation,especially in Central and Western China.

“双碳”目标下农户兼业与农村生活能源消费转型

促进农村生活能源消费转型对于我国能源消费结构优化以及“双碳”目标实现具有重要意义。基于2022年实地调研数据,实证分析农户兼业对农村生活能源消费转型的影响效应及作用机制。结果表明,农户兼业对农村生活能源消费转型有显著促进作用,推动农村能源消费结构逐渐由以生物质能源为主向以商品能源为主转变。进一步机制分析显示,农户兼业通过提升家庭收入及优化收入结构、土地资本挤出、人力资本挤出和生态自觉性提升促进农村生活能源消费转型。此外,农户兼业促进农村生活能源消费转型存在代际、兼业地区和行业差异。因此,提出进一步破除城乡资源流动壁垒,完善农民工省外流动机制;加强生态文明建设,大力培育农户生态自觉性;推动乡村产业升级,促进农民收入量、质提升的对策建议。

生态补偿政策差异对农户就业和收入的影响研究

研究目的:探讨不同类型生态补偿政策对农户就业和收入的影响差异,以期评估和揭示不同类型生态补偿政策实施的效果及有效性,为完善生态补偿政策、提高农户福利提供参考。研究方法:内生转换模型和内生转换Probit模型。研究结果:(1)人力资本水平对农户参与“造血型”生态补偿政策具有显著影响;农户年龄和教育水平、家庭劳动力数量对农户参与“造血型”补偿政策具有正向作用,家庭生产性耐用品数量、耕地面积和质量、距乡镇中心距离对农户参与“造血型”补偿政策具有负向作用。(2)相比“输血型”生态补偿政策,参与“造血型”生态补偿政策的农户总收入减少4.2%,但非农就业概率显著提高26.4%。(3)“造血型”生态补偿政策对中低收入农户的发展机会型收入具有显著正向影响,释放了一定的流动性,但对资源依赖型收入没有显著影响。研究结论:应继续优化“造血型”生态补偿政策,采用多元化措施提升农户的人力资本水平以拓宽就业增收途径,以保障生态补偿政策实施的有效性和可持续性。

乡村振兴背景下新型农场主“三业融合”培养模式改革与研究

以“专业、就业、创业”为重点,从课程体系、实践教学体系、政校企协同育人机制、师资队伍、就业创业服务体系等方面对新型农场主“三业融合”培养模式进行了系统性归纳总结,以期为高职院校乡村振兴人才培养工作提供借鉴。

互联网发展与农户共同富裕:效应与差异分析

基于CFPS 2020年数据,采用熵值法从经济水平、医疗健康、教育水平、精神富裕、生活保障等5个维度测算了农户共同富裕水平,实证检验了互联网发展对农户共同富裕的影响。结果表明:(1)互联网发展对农户共同富裕具有显著正向影响,对农户共同富裕的实现起到了“助推器”的作用;(2)互联网发展对共同富裕的5个维度具有差异化影响,其中在经济水平、教育水平、精神富裕和生活保障等维度呈现出不同程度的正向影响,但对医疗健康维度无显著影响;(3)互联网发展对农户共同富裕水平呈现出多分位先增后减及区域差异化的促进效应,且对非农就业农户共同富裕水平的促进效应更加明显。研究结论可为后续利用数字技术实现共同富裕提供一定的参考。

Does Education Still Pay Off in Rural China:Revisit the Impact of Education on Off-farm Employment and Wages

The present study considers how education affects off-farm job participation and wages. We use a nationally representative dataset from a survey conducted in 5 provinces, 101 villages and 808 households by the authors in early 2005. The empirical results show that educational attainment, skill training and years of experience of rural residents have positive, statistically significant effects on off-farm employment. The average return to a year of education is 7percent, which is higher than those observed in previous studies. We also find the return to an additional year of schooling to be higher for post-junior high schooling than for junior high and below schooling： 11.8 versus 3.2 percent. We conclude that not only does education still pays off in rural China, but also the rate of return to education is increasing over time.

How Off-farm Employment Affects Technical Efficiency of China＇s Farms＂ The Case of Jiangsu

Using three-wave survey data for four villages of Jiangsu Province in China, the present paper examines whether and to what extent off-farm employment affects the technical efficiency of agricultural production. The level of technical efficiency is measured using a stochastic frontier production function approach. Based on estimation results from instrumental variable panel quantile regressions we find that there is a positive significant effect of off-farm employment on the level of farm technical efficiency. We also find that fragmentation of farmland is a barrier to the improvement of technical efficiency. In addition, we find a downward trend in the level of agricultural technical efficiency among our sample. Therefore, the Chinese Government should stimulate agricultural mechanization and the development of farming techniques to improve technical efficiency in the context of increasing off-farm employment.