Publication:
The Role of Rural Labor Markets in Poverty Reduction : Evidence from Asia and East Africa

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (423.68 KB)
392 downloads
Date
2008
ISSN
Published
2008
Editor(s)
Abstract
By using long-term panel data sets of rural households in the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India and cross-sectional data sets in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, the roles of labor markets in long-term poverty reduction in Asia is compared with the current situation in East Africa. The study finds that the reliance on agricultural labor markets alone will not reduce poverty to a significant extent, in view of the declining share of agricultural wage income in Asia and its negligibly low level in East Africa. An increased non-farm income is a decisive factor in reducing rural poverty, as it has reduced the income gaps between the land-rich and land-poor households, between the educated and uneducated workers, and between less and more favorable agricultural areas. Labor markets are clearly segmented in accordance with the schooling levels, which critically affect occupational choice and non-farm income of rural labor force.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Otsuka, Keijiro; Yamano, Takashi. 2008. The Role of Rural Labor Markets in Poverty Reduction : Evidence from Asia and East Africa. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9238 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Labor Markets, Occupational Choice, and Rural Poverty in Selected Countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-10) Estudillo, Jonna P.; Matsumoto, Tomoya; Uddin, Hayat Chowdhury Zia; Kumanayake, Nandika S.; Otsuka, Keijiro
    This paper reviews the relative importance of different components of rural labor markets, examining how their functions differ across geographical locations and change over time, and inquiring into the difference in the contribution to poverty reduction among different jobs (i.e., agricultural wage employment, formal and informal nonfarm wage jobs, and nonfarm self-employment). Improving rural investment climate through investment in infrastructure and provision of credit will be helpful, because in all likelihood, increased access to nonfarm jobs, in general, and formal jobs in particular, will become a key factor affecting the improvement of living standards and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a phenomenon particularly visible in Asia from the mid-1980s to late-2000s which has started to appear in Africa. The development of agriculture stimulates the growth of nonfarm sectors through production and consumption linkages. Furthermore, increased farm income tends to be invested in schooling of children, who later look for nonfarm jobs, as seen in the Asian experience. Supply of such educated labor force to nonfarm sectors must have contributed to their development, and balanced development strategy for both farm and nonfarm sectors is clearly needed in SSA for achieving the twin goals of improving living standards and reducing rural poverty.
  • Publication
    Rural Labour Markets and Migration in South Asia: Evidence from India and Bangladesh
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006) Deshingkar, Priya; Farrington, John
    The question of how rural labour markets and migration can be made to work better for poverty reduction is the focus of the paper. Using select case and longitudinal studies from five parts of India and Bangladesh, the key processes that shape rural labour markets and how these have evolved over time with the changing macro-economic, policy, agro-ecological and infrastructural context are discussed. The authors find that, while agricultural wages have remained relatively low, a few rural labouring households have been able to break out of poverty through household diversification strategies that use a combination of two or more of the following: accessing regular work (not necessarily well-paid) inside or outside the village; leasing in land or being given a land by a patron for cultivating; and starting up a small business. The evidence highlights the complexity of household labour allocation strategies and why analyses based on national statistics alone are not able to capture them.
  • Publication
    On the Central Role of Small Farms in African Rural Development Strategies
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-06) Muraoka, Rie; Larson, Donald F.; Otsuka, Keijiro
    Improving the productivity of smallholder farms in Sub-Saharan Africa offers the best chance to reduce poverty among this generation of rural poor, by building on the limited resources farming households already possess. It is also the best and shortest path to meet rising food needs. Using examples from farmers' maize and rice fields, and comparisons with Asia, this paper examines why the set of technologies promoted to date have produced localized successes rather than transformational change. The paper explains the limitations of alternative policies that are not centered on small farms. It provides indicative examples of how resource-management technologies can supplement seed-fertilizer technologies to speed an African Green Revolution.
  • Publication
    Soil Fertility, Fertilizer, and the Maize Green Revolution in East Africa
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-12) Matsumoto, Tomoya; Yamano, Takashi
    This paper investigates the reasons for the low application of external fertilizers on farms in Kenya and Uganda. The analysis uses a large panel of household data with rich soil fertility data at the plot level. The authors control for maize seed selection and household effects by using a fixed-effects semi-parametric endogenous switching model. The results suggest that Kenyan maize farmers have applied inorganic fertilizer at the optimal level, corresponding to the high nitrogen-maize relative price, in one of the two survey years and also responded to the price change over time. In Uganda, even the low application of inorganic fertilizer is not profitable because of its high relative price. The authors conclude that policies that reduce the relative price of fertilizer could be effective in both countries, while the efficacy of policies based on improving farmers' knowledge about fertilizer use will be limited as long as the relative price of fertilizer remains high.
  • Publication
    Rural Development from a Territorial Perspective: Case Studies in Asia and Latin America
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-12) Damiani, Octavio
    The contribution of agriculture and rural development to poverty reduction is studied by examining the transformation of five territories in four countries in Asia (Malaysia and People's Republic of China) and Latin America (Brazil and Peru) which have experienced substantial reductions in poverty. The study analyzed: 1) the transformation of the five territories, focusing mainly on identifying the dominant strategies that rural households implemented to exit out of poverty; 2i) the relative importance of different assets (human, physical, financial, natural, and social capital) in the successful adoption of exit roads from poverty; 3) analyzed the role of agriculture and other economic activities in rural poor households to exit from poverty; and 4) the role of government interventions.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Argentina Country Climate and Development Report
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank Group
    The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022
    (Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank
    The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.
  • Publication
    The Journey Ahead
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31) Bossavie, Laurent; Garrote Sánchez, Daniel; Makovec, Mattia
    The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2006
    (Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
    This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.