Seminars & Events

APL (Ajiken Power Lunch) is a lunchtime workshop open to public, including IDE staffs, visiting research fellows, IDEAS students, outside researchers and graduate students. This workshop provides a platform for presentation of any work in progress where we can discuss in either English or Japanese.

Please have a contact with APL organizers by email in advance (contact information is shown in the bottom of this page), if you would like to present your work or attend a seminar.

February 13, 2012, (Monday) 12:30-14:00

Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization C22 Meeting Room　

Rural Non-Farm Employment and Income: Evidence from Indian Punjab

Abstract: The present study examined the pattern of rural non-farm employment, its determinants and impact on income distribution and poverty in Punjab by using the data collected from 315 rural households spread over 20 villages in 10 districts of the state. Almost 55 per cent of the rural male and 28.5 per cent of the rural female workers were employed in rural non-farm sector. About 70 per cent of the rural households derived income from RNF sector, with 51 per cent of the households having it as their major source of income. The proportions for farm sector were 62 and 37 per cent, respectively. Gender, caste, age, education, household size, operational area, worker population ratio and nearness to some urbanized settlement were found to be the significant determinants of access to RNF employment and incomes. The results refuted the inter-linkage hypothesis between the farm and non-farm sector. The study revealed widespread inequality in farm as well as non-farm incomes. Rural non-farm income as a whole contributed to the reduction in rural income inequality, while the farm income was found to widen such gap, owing to large scale inequality in the distribution of land in the state. The land size, land productivity of the area, education, worker population ratio and access to more number of income sources significantly reduced the incidence of household poverty. RNF incomes alone could not help in poverty reduction indicating its low-productivity nature. The study emphasized on guaranteeing employment, improving access to formal credit, promoting self-help groups, promoting education, vocational training and rapid expansion of labour-intensive industry in rural areas to generate RNF employment, reduce income inequality and alleviate household poverty.

Kamal Vatta (Agricultural Economist, Punjab Agricultural University)

Contact: Institute of Developing Economies, APL Organizers Kiyoyasu Tanaka　E-mail：kiyoyasu_tanaka Yuya Kudo　E-mail:yuya_kudo (do not copy and paste address, formatted differently to prevent spam)