Understanding the role of rural non-farm enterprises in Africa’s economic transformation: Evidence from Tanzania

Tanzania’s recent growth boom has been accompanied by a threefold increase in the share of the rural labour force working in nonfarm employment. Although households with nonfarm enterprises are less likely to be poor, a substantial fraction of these households fall below the poverty line. Heterogene...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Diao, Xinshen, Magalhaes, Eduardo, McMillan, Margaret S.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Routledge 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/146033
Descripción
Sumario:Tanzania’s recent growth boom has been accompanied by a threefold increase in the share of the rural labour force working in nonfarm employment. Although households with nonfarm enterprises are less likely to be poor, a substantial fraction of these households fall below the poverty line. Heterogeneity in the labour productivity of rural nonfarm businesses calls for a two-pronged strategy for rural transformation. Relatively unproductive enterprises may be part of a poverty reduction strategy but should not be expected to contribute to employment and labour productivity growth. Failure to account for this heterogeneity is likely to lead to disappointing outcomes.