Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi

Rural labor markets in Africa are frequently characterized by underemployment, with farmers unable to fully deploy throughout the year one of their most important assets—their labor. Using a nine-year panel data set on 1,407 working-age adults from rural Malawi, we document changes in rural underemp...

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Main Authors: Van Cappellen, Hanne, De Weerdt, Joachim
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132055
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author Van Cappellen, Hanne
De Weerdt, Joachim
author_browse De Weerdt, Joachim
Van Cappellen, Hanne
author_facet Van Cappellen, Hanne
De Weerdt, Joachim
author_sort Van Cappellen, Hanne
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Rural labor markets in Africa are frequently characterized by underemployment, with farmers unable to fully deploy throughout the year one of their most important assets—their labor. Using a nine-year panel data set on 1,407 working-age adults from rural Malawi, we document changes in rural underemployment over this period and how they are associated with urbanization. Nearby urban growth results in increased hours worked in casual labor (ganyu) and in non-agricultural sectors, at the expense of work on the household farm. Improved urban access is also associated with a small increase in wage labor and, at the intensive mar gin, with hours supplied in household enterprises. We draw lessons from these results for policies, investments, and interventions to leverage urban growth for rural development.
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spelling CGSpace1320552025-11-06T07:37:41Z Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi Van Cappellen, Hanne De Weerdt, Joachim rural population underemployment farmers labour urbanization income households rural development Rural labor markets in Africa are frequently characterized by underemployment, with farmers unable to fully deploy throughout the year one of their most important assets—their labor. Using a nine-year panel data set on 1,407 working-age adults from rural Malawi, we document changes in rural underemployment over this period and how they are associated with urbanization. Nearby urban growth results in increased hours worked in casual labor (ganyu) and in non-agricultural sectors, at the expense of work on the household farm. Improved urban access is also associated with a small increase in wage labor and, at the intensive mar gin, with hours supplied in household enterprises. We draw lessons from these results for policies, investments, and interventions to leverage urban growth for rural development. 2023-09-22 2023-09-28T21:00:53Z 2023-09-28T21:00:53Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132055 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Van Cappellen, Hanne; and De Weerdt, Joachim. 2023. Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi. MaSSP Working Paper 43. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136900.
spellingShingle rural population
underemployment
farmers
labour
urbanization
income
households
rural development
Van Cappellen, Hanne
De Weerdt, Joachim
Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi
title Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi
title_full Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi
title_fullStr Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi
title_full_unstemmed Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi
title_short Rural underemployment and urbanization: Insights from a nine year household panel survey from Malawi
title_sort rural underemployment and urbanization insights from a nine year household panel survey from malawi
topic rural population
underemployment
farmers
labour
urbanization
income
households
rural development
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132055
work_keys_str_mv AT vancappellenhanne ruralunderemploymentandurbanizationinsightsfromanineyearhouseholdpanelsurveyfrommalawi
AT deweerdtjoachim ruralunderemploymentandurbanizationinsightsfromanineyearhouseholdpanelsurveyfrommalawi