Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages
As the agricultural transformation associated with economic development proceeds, the economic fulcrum of the agrifood system moves from primary production to nonfarm activities, such as input supply, food processing, food services, and wholesale and retail trade. Traditional measures of farm employ...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Food Policy Research Institute
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176871 |
| _version_ | 1855516770427731968 |
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| author | Corong, Erwin Gautam, Madhur Martin, Will Vos, Rob |
| author_browse | Corong, Erwin Gautam, Madhur Martin, Will Vos, Rob |
| author_facet | Corong, Erwin Gautam, Madhur Martin, Will Vos, Rob |
| author_sort | Corong, Erwin |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | As the agricultural transformation associated with economic development proceeds, the economic fulcrum of the agrifood system moves from primary production to nonfarm activities, such as input supply, food processing, food services, and wholesale and retail trade. Traditional measures of farm employment and value added (or GDP) represent a shrinking share of the agrifood system’s total contribution. Better quantification is important not only to appreciate the role of agrifood system transformation in broader economic development, but also to inform policies that create more and better-quality jobs and accelerate structural transformation in developing economies.
This study considers two broad approaches to measuring the agrifood sector: (1) measuring agrifood activities, and (2) exploiting the economy’s full input–output structure to measure the direct and indirect resources needed to meet final demands for agrifood products and to transform agrifood output into nonfood products such as biofuels and clothing. We apply both approaches using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and comparing their results. We then use the input–output approach to estimate the employment generated by the agrifood sector, including employment in backward and forward linkages. The findings suggest that the input–output approach provides a more comprehensive assessment, with the agrifood sector generating 15.2 percent (near one-sixth) of global GDP and one-third of global employment. The findings further show that the off-farm segments of the agrifood system provide better-quality jobs than the farm segments, particularly for women. These findings provide insights on the potential for improving welfare and reducing poverty and inequality through agrifood system transformation. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace176871 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1768712025-11-06T05:22:41Z Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages Corong, Erwin Gautam, Madhur Martin, Will Vos, Rob agrifood systems economic development employment gender inequality input output analysis gross national product gender As the agricultural transformation associated with economic development proceeds, the economic fulcrum of the agrifood system moves from primary production to nonfarm activities, such as input supply, food processing, food services, and wholesale and retail trade. Traditional measures of farm employment and value added (or GDP) represent a shrinking share of the agrifood system’s total contribution. Better quantification is important not only to appreciate the role of agrifood system transformation in broader economic development, but also to inform policies that create more and better-quality jobs and accelerate structural transformation in developing economies. This study considers two broad approaches to measuring the agrifood sector: (1) measuring agrifood activities, and (2) exploiting the economy’s full input–output structure to measure the direct and indirect resources needed to meet final demands for agrifood products and to transform agrifood output into nonfood products such as biofuels and clothing. We apply both approaches using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and comparing their results. We then use the input–output approach to estimate the employment generated by the agrifood sector, including employment in backward and forward linkages. The findings suggest that the input–output approach provides a more comprehensive assessment, with the agrifood sector generating 15.2 percent (near one-sixth) of global GDP and one-third of global employment. The findings further show that the off-farm segments of the agrifood system provide better-quality jobs than the farm segments, particularly for women. These findings provide insights on the potential for improving welfare and reducing poverty and inequality through agrifood system transformation. 2025-10-07 2025-10-07T18:58:39Z 2025-10-07T18:58:39Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176871 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174848 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168646 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169012 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Corong, Erwin; Gautam, Madhur; Martin, Will; and Vos, Rob. 2025. Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2365. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176871 |
| spellingShingle | agrifood systems economic development employment gender inequality input output analysis gross national product gender Corong, Erwin Gautam, Madhur Martin, Will Vos, Rob Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| title | Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| title_full | Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| title_fullStr | Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| title_short | Measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems: Accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| title_sort | measuring employment and job quality in agrifood systems accounting for backward and forward linkages |
| topic | agrifood systems economic development employment gender inequality input output analysis gross national product gender |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176871 |
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