Punjab's Rural Economy: Temporal Shift in Employment and Income Pattern

Abstract

The agricultural and non-agricultural sectors are the two most important areas of any economy. The study was done to ascertain changes in the rural economy's income and employment patterns during a sixteen-year period. The sample size of the study was 225 households. Rural populations are increasingly reliant on non-farm economies as they migrate away from farming and allied activities. However, the move to the non-farm sector has not been growth-enhancing, as the majority of non-farm sector workers remained wage earners over both periods. Diversification in the agricultural sector, as well as a shift toward the non-agricultural sector, have made no substantial improvements over the last sixteen years.