Agricultural Labor Market Research Articles

Modelling Land Use, Deforestation, and Policy: A Hybrid Optimisation-Heterogeneous Agent Model with Application to the Bolivian Amazon

We introduce a hybrid simulation model (‘SimPachamama’) designed to explore the complex socio-environmental trade-offs of alternative policy bundles and policy sequencing options for stemming deforestation and reducing poverty in tropical countries. Designed and calibrated to the initial conditions of a small forest village in rural Bolivia, the model consists of: (a) an optimising agricultural household module of heterogeneous agents that make individually optimal land-use decisions based on factor endowments and market conditions; (b) an encompassing general equilibrium ‘shell’ module that endogenously determines wages and links the agricultural labour market and rural-urban migration rates; and (c) a novel user-controlled policy-maker module that allows the user to make ‘real time’ choices over a variety of public and environmental policies that in turn impact land use, welfare, and migration. Over a 20-year simulation period the results highlight trade-offs between reductions in deforestation and improvements in household welfare that can only be overcome either when international REDD payments are offered or when decentralized deforestation taxes are implemented. The sequencing of policies plays a critical role in the determination of these results.

The Statistical Estimation of the Standard Model Agricultural Labor Market in Assiut Governorate

The Statistical Estimation of the Standard Model Agricultural Labor Market in Assiut Governorate

English

Unemployment of graduates is a challenging problem in Africa, and it is aggravated by many factors such as population growth, mismatch between curriculum and employer needs, and lack of evidence-based policy making. In this context, the objectives of the present study are twofold. First, the aim is to identify key characteristics influencing labor market participation of graduates from agricultural higher education in Guinea. Second, the aim is to identify agricultural labor market needs in terms of skills and profiles desired by employers. Telephone surveys were administered to recent graduates from the main agricultural higher education institutions. The major findings from the analysis suggest that about one third of Guinean agricultural university graduates in the 2008-2013 period were employed in the formal sector in 2013-2014. Employment rates are lower for the technical schools. In terms of job creation prospects, key employers expect a doubling of hiring for positions requiring technical school or university training. Most of the projected growth is expected in the private sector. The results indicate that male graduates have a 7% higher probability of being employed as compared to female graduates in the aggregate analysis.   Key words: Youth, gender, employment, university, graduates, technical schools, labor market.

The boll weevil plague and its effect on the southern agricultural sector, 1889–1929

In the early 1890s, cotton fields in the American South were ravaged by the boll weevil. Using a model that controls for differences in the intensity of cotton production at the county level, we show how the boll weevil significantly changed southern agricultural labor arrangements and labor market outcomes. The boll weevil significantly reduced the number of tenant farms, decreased farm wages, and female labor force participation, particularly in counties with a higher intensity of cotton production.

Effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. Agricultural Labor Market

AbstractWe empirically test four hypotheses regarding differences between agricultural worker earnings (wages and bonuses) during recession and non‐recessionary times, between agricultural worker time use during recession and non‐recession times, between outcomes for undocumented and documented workers, and between outcomes for agricultural workers versus those working in other sectors of interest. Regression analyses show that the wages of documented (legal) seasonal agricultural workers increased more during the last three recessions than did the wages of undocumented agricultural workers and low‐skilled nonagricultural workers. Bonus pay and weekly hours also increased for some workers, suggesting general increases in the financial wellbeing of employed agricultural workers during recessions.

Forecasting development outcomes under alternative surplus labour assumptions

ABSTRACTEconomic forecasts are useful to policymakers both as aids to planning, and as baselines against which counterfactual scenarios can be compared. However, policy makers should be aware that assumptions relating to model structure can influence forecast results. We explore the sensitivity of forecasts to one aspect of model structure important in modelling developing economies: surplus agricultural labour. We outline a framework for modelling surplus agricultural labour that relies on average product remuneration. We embed this within a model of a developing economy (the Philippines) characterized by surplus agricultural labour. We compare the results of two forecasts that differ in their treatment of the agricultural labour market. In the first, the surplus labour theory is activated, establishing average product remuneration in agriculture. In the second, the surplus labour theory is not activated, creating a failure to recognize average product remuneration in agriculture. By comparing the two simulations, we show that failure to model the presence of average product remuneration, when it would be appropriate to do so, has an impact that would be material to economic planners, leading them to: under-estimate agricultural employment; over-estimate GDP growth; and, over-estimate important policy variables (like tax revenue) that are related to GDP growth.

L'intermediazione informale di manodopera nelle campagne italiane: caporali burkinabé in Puglia e Basilicata e mediatori panjabi in Pianura Padana

This article deals with the figure of the informal labour contractor in the Italian agricultural labour market. By comparing two cases - the Burkinabe caporali in the production of processing tomatoes in Puglia and Basilicata and the Indian Panjabi brokers in the dairy sector in the Po valley - we analyse the relationships among migrants’ social networks, intermediaries and local productive sectors. On the one hand, we describe how these brokers manipulate their social networks in order to gain economic and social capital. On the other hand, we show how Italian migration policies cause a hierarchization of the migrant networks: more than other migrants, the intermediaries are able to accumulate economic and social capital and to achieve a social and geographical mobility. The article is based upon two studies conducted with ethnographic methodologies.

Tenancy and African American Marriage in the Postbellum South.

The pervasiveness of tenancy in the postbellum South had countervailing effects on marriage between African Americans. Tenancy placed severe constraints on African American women's ability to find independent agricultural work. Freedwomen confronted not only planters' reluctance to contract directly with women but also whites' refusal to sell land to African Americans. Marriage consequently became one of African American women's few viable routes into the agricultural labor market. We find that the more counties relied on tenant farming, the more common was marriage among their youngest and oldest African American residents. However, many freedwomen resented their subordinate status within tenant marriages. Thus, we find that tenancy contributed to union dissolution as well as union formation among freedpeople. Microdata tracing individuals' marital transitions are consistent with these county-level results.

Food Justice, Nervios, and the Unequal Burden of Misery

INTRODUCTIONThe focus of this article is the unwelcome consequences of the global labor market for sending regions. I have been teaching a sociology course focused on globalization in Ecuador every year since 1998. Travels throughout Ecuador have provided many opportunities to speak with Ecuadorians from all walks of life. I have had extemporaneous conversations with bus drivers, wait staff, close friends, town mayors, college students, farmers, and many others during the past sixteen years. The many conversations that I shared with Ecuadorians over this long period of time reflect the experiences of thousands of others living in the southern Andes region of Ecuador. This essay is a personal reflection on some of the insights gained through those many encounters. The majority of the conversations took place in and around Cuenca, Ecuador in Azuay Province. Azuay Province is located in the Andes Mountains of south central Ecuador. Circumstances in this region reflect the causes and consequences of significant immigration to the United States and to Spain. The limited arable land, the high levels of unemployment and poverty, the increasing inability of parents to secure a future in agriculture for their children, and the significant inflation in prices for basic necessities, including land, all serve to limit the options open to Ecuadorians from this region, particularly among young adults. Ecuadorians must create an alternative path in order to meet socially negotiated expectations of adult status. This is one dimension of the intersection of migration occasioned by transnational labor markets and broad issues of food justice.The global labor surplus under neoliberal globalization drives down wages and working conditions, especially for those at the bottom of the market. Combined with their illegal status in receiving countries, undocumented migrant laborers occupy the most marginal circumstances. The consequences of these fragile and exposed living conditions accrue not only to the worker, but their families in the sending regions as well. The central focus of this paper is the way in which persons in sending regions experience a variety of negative consequences of the transnational agricultural labor market, particularly the depressionlike disorder of nervios. Little precise data exist regarding the employment status of Ecuadorians in the United States, but the seminal work of Pribilisky (2007) suggests that working in the food industry is a frequent source of employment for these migrants. These positions range from working in a restaurant, farm work, and distributing restaurant menus in parking lots. The psychic, social, financial, and medical consequences of these particular forms of labor-tied to the tenuous circumstances of migration, most often as undocumented workers-are largely unknown and unacknowledged in the receiving nations. North Americans pay little attention to the problems of sending regions due to distance, ignorance, and prejudice.Capitalism is a global enterprise and will become even more so due to the increasing trade in commodities, persons, and ideas. Notions of food justice will necessarily expand in recognition of the fact that food production, distribution, and consumption touch every region of the world and connect these regions through our globalized food systems. The consequences of these global dynamics produce winners and losers although these categories are not strictly drawn dichotomies. Ecuadorians materially benefit in many cases from remittances but pay a deep and bitter price for the new found income. Offsetting the remittances is often a significant debt to the coyotes for leading the migrant to the United States. More than one person told of losing their homes and farms in order to finance their children's journey north. The typical charge for bringing an Ecuadorian into the United States was reported to be $15,000 with interest accruing immediately if the fees were not paid in full. …

Emprego formal e rotatividade no mercado de trabalho agropecuário no nordeste: 2000-2001 e 2009-2010

The transformations in the Brazilian agricultural production rebounded sharply on labor relations in this sector. The expansion of agricultural activity, followed by the enthronement of technology, had profound consequences for the rural labor market in Brazil. This article aims to analyze the socioeconomic profile and especially the turnover of employees in the agricultural segment of the Brazilian Northeast, a region with significant records of temporary crops, which in recent years has adopted technological innovation in the field. The years 2000 and 2010 were chosen for the analysis of socioeconomic characteristics of agricultural workers in the Northeast, and the 2000-2001 and 2009-2010 biennium to measure the turnover rate. The data are from the Annual Social Information Report (RAIS) and the General Register of Employed and Unemployed Persons (CAGED), of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE). To reach the proposed goals, as a method of analysis, we initially make a brief literature review on the dynamics of the Brazilian labor market, with emphasis on the analysis of the northeastern agricultural labor market. On the basis of descriptive statistics, we analyze the socioeconomic profile of employees in the sector in question. Additionally, we calculate admission and dismissal rates, the rate of net job creation, as well as the turnover in agricultural and farming jobs. The empirical evidence reveals structural changes in the industry: on the one hand, there is an absolute increase in the number of formally hired workers between 2000 and 2010 and, on the other, an increase in the number of workers in the lower income brackets. The turnover rate also increased between the first and the last period analyzed. This indicator shows that especially women, youth and less educated and low-paid persons are those who remain less time employed in the agricultural sector. It is found that turnover/instability in the agricultural market in the Northeast rose over the first decade of the 2000s. This performance can be attributed both to seasonality and to the strong tendency of creation and destruction of jobs after the opening of the Brazilian economy.Keywords: formal agricultural work, turnover, Northeast of Brazil.

Impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP) on the Rural Poor-A Simple Theoretical Discourse

The basic objective of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP) is to provide safety net for the rural poor and to stabilize agricultural production through creating productive assets via employing labourers. Two important linked aspects are worth noting in respect of implementation of the programme. Implementation of MGNREGP in multiple cropping areas can increase the employment opportunities among the landless agricultural labourers and thus has inevitably raised their bargaining power particularly during the time of second crop i.e. post rainy season cultivation. Besides this, Government of India has persistently been hiking per man-day MGNREGP wage. Both these instances undoubtedly increase the reservation wage in agricultural labour market which in turn may have an adverse effect on the farm income in the multi-cropping areas. In this paper, maximum possible per man-day MGNREGP wage is determined at which the corresponding agricultural wage can help the marginal farmers to sustain their net farm income at least at subsistence level. This paper also establishes the fact that as a result of the hike of MGNREGP wage, sustenance of subsistence net farm income may lead to price hike in agricultural sector. The study also attempts to analyze the results in respect of aggregate net pecuniary benefits of the rural poor in the light of MGNREGP considering different agricultural frameworks.

Regional markets with agricultural workforce based on Labour offices' data

The changes in Czech agriculture over the past twenty years have had their impact on the agricultural labour market, too. The regional differentiation of the chances of applicants on the labour market as well as the agricultural enterprises’ chances of hiring employees fitting their requirements, are, among others, influenced by the specific conditions of agricultural production. The aim of this paper pertains to two basic problem areas: first, the differentiation of respective regions based on the number of agricultural applicants and job vacancies, and second, the identification of disequilibrium on the agricultural labour market. The latter is based on a theoretical framework defined by approaches in economy dealing with labour market equilibrium. Due to the unavailability of economic data (including wages, economic performance, etc.) on the regional level, authors develop their own methodological approach, based on the number of applicants per job vacancy. A database of applicants and vacancies available from the Labour Offices is used as a source for the analysis and interpretation of data, enabling us to study the agricultural labour market not only sector-wise but also region-wise.

Does Citizenship Status Matter in Canadian Agriculture? Workplace Health and Safety for Migrant and Immigrant Laborers

AbstractThis article explores how precarious legal status circumscribes differential inclusion in the agricultural labor market and affects workers' lives through a comparative study of workplace health and safety among temporary migrant guest workers and immigrants in Canada. Original, multimethod research with South Asian immigrant and Mexican migrant farmworkers examines employment practices, working conditions, and health‐care access. We find that both groups engage in precarious work, with consequences for their health and safety, including immigrant workers with citizenship. Nevertheless, migrant guest workers are subject to more coercive forms of labor discipline and a narrower range of social protection than immigrants. We argue that while formal citizenship can mitigate some dimensions of precariousness for farmworkers racialized as non‐white, achieving a more just, safer food system will require broader policies to improve employer compliance and address legislative shortcomings that only weakly protect agricultural labor.

Wage and employment effects of Malawi's fertilizer subsidy program

This article uses three waves of nationally representative household-level panel data from Malawi to estimate how a large-scale fertilizer subsidy program impacts the agricultural labor market, known as ganyu in that country. I find that when looking across the entire population of smallholders, receiving an additional 100 kg of subsidized fertilizer causes the average household to supply about three fewer days of ganyu. The fertilizer subsidy program also has a small positive effect on the probability that a household demands agricultural labor, with the results approaching statistical significance. In addition, a 10 kg increase in the average amount of subsidized fertilizer acquired per household in a community boosts the median agricultural wage rate by 1.4% in that community. The increase in wage rates translates to a US $1.40 per year increase in average household income in the years after Malawi's subsidy program was scaled up, and a US $1.86 per year increase in average household income for those who sold their labor before the subsidy program was scaled up. This finding suggests that households who sell their labor off farm may experience some small spillover benefit from the program in the form of higher agricultural wage rates.

Uniqueness of Agricultural Labor Markets

Uniqueness of Agricultural Labor Markets

Oligarchic land ownership, entrepreneurship, and economic development

This paper develops a theory in which oligarchic ownership of land or other natural resources may impede entrepreneurship in the manufacturing sector and may thereby retard structural change and economic development. We show that, due to oligopsony power of owners in the agricultural labor market, higher ownership concentration depresses entrepreneurial investments by landless, credit-constrained households, whose investment possibilities depend on the income earned in the primary sector. We discuss historical evidence from Latin America, India, Taiwan and South Korea which supports our theory.

Rural labour market developments in the Republic of Macedonia

The significant changes in the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of human resources in rural Macedonia can be explained by the continued tendency of emigration from villages to urban areas and abroad. The intensity of emigration has altered the demographic structure and reproductive base of the rural population, along with the income of rural households. The rural and agricultural labour market faces a mismatch with respect to the unfavourable age, education and spatial distribution of the total labour force. A reduction in the participation of women in the agricultural labour force is a new feature. The overall transformation is apparent in the income structure of rural households. An increase of the share of households with mixed income sources notably stems from households that receive remittances and foreign currency funds from family members abroad. The demographic revitalization of rural areas depends on economic revitalization, with a more rational use of the labour force and human resources, as well as, restructuring of agricultural production and agricultural holdings. In addition, improvements are necessary in the functioning of market institutions to better meet the needs of smaller farmers and the rural economy. Key words: Rural labour market, agricultural transformation, rural households, emigration process, rural economy business management.

Undocumented immigration and the business of farm labor contracting in the USA

PurposeFarm labor contractors operate as intermediaries between farmworkers and agricultural employers by recruiting and supplying labor to US farms. In a political economy where there are employer sanctions for hiring workers without proper documentation, contractors share risk alongside final employers. Furthermore, contractors may facilitate quick employment matches during time sensitive agricultural tasks such as harvesting. For undocumented workers, using a contractor may decrease uncertainty associated with a foreign labor market and ease language barriers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current role of labor contractors in delivering immigrant agricultural workers, particularly undocumented workers, to farms.Design/methodology/approachDeterminants of labor contractor use and relationships to final worker outcomes are examined using econometric methods and a large nationally‐representative worker survey that is distinctive in that it distinguishes legal status.FindingsUndocumented farmworkers are shown to be more likely to use contractors than are documented workers, though statistical significance is sensitive to the inclusion of crop and task indicators, and wages and fringe compensation to workers who use contractors are lower, even after controlling for legal status.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper contributes to limited recent academic work on the role of labor contractors in US agriculture. Future work may examine ongoing changes to this role in the context of mutable immigration policy and public opinion.Practical implicationsIt is argued that the decline in labor contracting increases the need for employer‐level bilingual communication skills and compliance with labor regulations.Originality/valueUnderstanding current dynamics of the agricultural labor market should be of value to scholars of rural economies, farm owners and agricultural policymakers.

Labour productivity and rice production in Bangladesh: a stochastic frontier approach

In this article, we examine the significance of labour productivity and use of inputs in explaining technical efficiency of rice production in Bangladesh. We find that higher labour productivity can stimulate high efficiency gains, but increased use of inputs (except land) induces negative marginal effect on technical efficiency. While more use of land, improved seeds and fertilizers contributes to the rate of labour productivity induced marginal efficiency gain, any additional labour depresses this rate. Given the agricultural policy reform history in Bangladesh, our findings imply that rather than providing input subsidy or output price support, future reforms should put more emphasis on providing incentives to enhance labour productivity and encourage formalization of the agricultural labour market.

Rural Labour Market Developments in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

The significant changes in the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of human resources in rural Macedonia can be explained by the continued trend of emigration from villages to urban areas and abroad. The intensity of emigration has altered the demographic structure and reproductive base of the rural population, along with the income of rural households. The rural and agricultural labour market faces a mismatch with respect to the unfavourable age, education and spatial distribution of the total labour force. A reduction in the participation of women in the agricultural labour force is a new feature. The overall transformation is apparent in the income structure of rural households. An increase in the share of households with mixed income sources notably stems from households that receive remittances and foreign currency funds from family members abroad. The demographic revitalisation of rural areas depends on economic revitalisation, with a more rational use of the labour force and human resources, as well as a restructuring of agricultural production and agricultural holdings. In addition, improvements are necessary in the functioning of market institutions to better meet the needs of smaller farmers and the rural economy.