Non-farm Population Research Articles

What is affecting the improvement of green innovation efficiency in the old industrial base: evidence from Northeast China.

Green innovation is an important driving force for high-quality development and is vital for reinvigorating the old industrial bases in Northeast China. As such, this study investigates the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and factors influencing green innovation efficiency (GIE) in Northeast China from 2005 to 2020, using the super-efficient EBM-Malmquist model, kernel density estimation, and random forest model. The results show the following. (1) The "growth effect" of technological change is the main force driving GIE improvement; the "horizontal effect" of pure technical efficiency change has started to play an important role; and the club convergence characteristics of GIE in Northeast China have started to be optimized. (2) GIE in Northeast China shows significant spatial differentiation. The urban agglomeration of Mid-southern Liaoning and Harbin-Changchun has had high values for GIE, indicating that green innovation has a cyclic cumulative effect and the spatial pattern of green innovation needs to be further optimized. (3) The random forest model is more accurate and provides more trustworthy results compared with the traditional multiple linear regression model. The results of random forest model measurement illustrate that the number of digital economy enterprises, public finance expenditure, GDP per capita, and vegetation coverage play a positive role in promoting GIE. The proportion of the non-farm population and industrial agglomeration plays a negative role in GIE. In the same period, the contribution of the number of digital economy enterprises≥0.41, public expenditure ≥0.47, GDP per capita≥0.39, and vegetation coverage≥0.36 to GIE reach maximum values and then remain unchanged.

Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Driving Force Evolution of Cultivated Land Occupied by Urban Expansion in the Chengdu Metropolitan Area

Cultivated land is the principal land source for urban expansion. Recent large-scale urban expansion through the occupation of cultivated land has influenced regional food security and the realization of sustainable development goals. Based on data regarding the cultivated land occupied for urban construction in the Chengdu metropolitan area from 2000 to 2018, the spatio-temporal evolution of cultivated land occupied by urban expansion was analysed using the contribution index. Based on a model comparison, the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was used to explore the spatio-temporal pattern and evolution path of significant driving factors. The results demonstrate that (1) the total area of cultivated land occupied by urban expansion from 2000 to 2018 was 470.528 km2 and mainly concentrated in the main urban area of Chengdu City and its surrounding districts and counties. The K value continued to decline from 93.23 to 37.48, indicating that the contribution of cultivated land in urban expansion is decreasing. (2) The GWR model, with a better fitting effect, demonstrates that the significant factors that influence the cultivated land occupied by urban expansion in the study area gradually shift from population aggregation factors to food safety and the proportion of non-farming population. (3) The evolution type of the driving force is mainly dominated by continuous change, and there is significant spatial heterogeneity in the evolution path. The population density → proportion of non-farm population → grain yield → comprehensive and proportion of cultivated land → per capita fixed asset investment → comprehensive → proportion of non-farm population were typical pathways. (4) Realizing the coordination between urban system structural optimization and cultivated land protection policies in the Chengdu metropolitan area is an important way to guarantee regional food and ecological security and promote the green and high-quality development of the metropolitan area. This study can promote coordination between urban expansion and cultivated land protection in metropolitan areas and provide a reference basis for sustainable economic and social development.

Local Nutritional Availability and Adult Height: Evidence from South Korea, 1946-1977

Local Nutritional Availability and Adult Height: Evidence from South Korea, 1946-1977

The Impact of Growth in Small Commercial Farm Productivity on Rural Poverty Reduction

Summary Our core thesis is that in both low- and middle-income countries, rapid growth in agricultural production and income among small commercial farmers is the dominant means of reducing rural poverty. This effect is generated from increased expenditures from smaller commercial farmers on the poor, labor-intensive, non-tradable, rural non-farm sector, thereby increasing incomes for the rural non-farm population and reducing poverty levels. We illustrate the relationship between small commercial farmers, rural non-farm households, large commercial farmers, and urban households in three contrasting situations. First, we analyze Punjab, Pakistan, a middle-income province with a large urban sector, dominance of small commercial farms in the local economy and significant land area managed by large commercial farms. Second, we analyze Sindh, Pakistan, a middle-income province with a large urban population and dominated in rural areas by large feudal holdings, but with a significant small commercial farm component. Third, we analyze data from Ethiopia, a low-income country with a relatively small urban sector and dominated by small commercial farms. In the two middle-income provinces of Pakistan, the role that agriculture plays in income determination is much less than the urban sector, but it maintains a dominant role in rural poverty determination. In Ethiopia, the low-income country, agricultural growth is a dominant variable both in income growth and poverty reduction—accounting for 73% of employment growth in the fast agricultural growth case. Large-scale commercial farms show little impact of agricultural growth on poverty reduction as compared to areas dominated by small commercial farms, partly because of their small proportion of total agricultural output, and partly due to weak consumption based multipliers.

A comparison of health, health behavior, and access between farm and nonfarm populations in rural New York state.

Recent technological and demographic changes in US agriculture raise questions about whether the previously observed benefits of the agricultural lifestyle persist. In 2009, researchers conducted a household survey of 9,612 adults (aged 20+) in a rural region of Upstate New York. Data on health status, health behaviors, and health care access among farmers and rural nonfarm residents were compared. After adjustment for age, gender, education, and having a regular health care provider, male farmers had elevated prevalence of asthma (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.05-3.16) and untreated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR: 3.17, 95% CI: 1.12-9.01). Farmers had significantly lower hypercholesterolemia (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.50-0.99), but not lower prevalence of heart disease or stroke. Farmers had lower rates of smoking (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40-0.89) and higher rates of hard physical labor (OR: 2.61, 95% CI: 1.83-3.72) than nonfarmers, but they had notably worse health behavior prevalence relative to various types of screening, vaccinations, and having a regular medical care provider (OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.39-0.71). The farm population is becoming more like the rural nonfarm population with regard to health outcomes and lifestyle, yet it remains notably poorer with regard to prevention. Targeted outreach is needed to increase prevention within the agricultural community.

Idle Rural Land Phenomena in Madison County, Georgia: (Originally published in Southeastern Geographer , 1:39–49.)

Idle Rural Land Phenomena in Madison County, Georgia(Originally published in Southeastern Geographer, 1:39–49.) Merle C. Prunty That large amounts of idle rural land have appeared in recent years throughout the southern Piedmont and coastal plains is known to most students of these areas. The present discussion reports findings from an investigation of idle land phenomena in a representative rural Piedmont county, and preliminary conclusions therefrom. The investigation continues. Madison County is situated in the eastern central Georgia Piedmont (Figure 1). It was selected as the areal unit for this investigation for several reasons. (1) The county is a reasonably representative segment of the southern Piedmont in terms of its terrain, soils, and land use history. (2) Madison County has been readily accessible to the investigator; proximity has facilitated virtually continuous observation. (3) It is preeminently rural. It was deemed essential to select a clearly rural area for analysis in order to eliminate the effects of rural-urban fringe phenomena associated with cities of even moderate size. Madison County met these conditions; in 1950 its villages and small towns together accounted for only 2,254 of the total 12,238 residents and its farm and rural non-farm population together amounted to almost five-sixths of the inhabitants. Obviously criteria for recognition of bona fide idle land have been essential. As employed herein, rural idle land refers to any rural area that has been cultivated previously but is not now (i.e., at time of observation) in use for any agricultural, pastoral, or residential purpose and which does not support forest growth of even potentially merchantable quality or volume—no matter how young. Length of time since the last cultivation may have been one or ten years, i.e., is irrelevant, but highly relevant is the fact that the land use immediately prior to idleness must have been either cropland or pasturage. “Old fields”—areas formerly cultivated but now clearly reverting to forest—are eliminated as are also areas of cutover farm and non-farm forest which now support a few “seed” trees plus a dominant cover of bush and brush. These criteria obviously rest upon a morphographic basis: the contemporary appearance of the individual land unit and field interpretation of same. It has been established that broomsedge (bromus latiglumis) occurs prominently in the vegetative cover of idle land plots on the southern Piedmont.1 This condition suggested the interesting possibility of a distinctive gray-scale recording of broomsedge [End Page 5] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. on aerial photos, particularly since U.S.D.A. photography customarily is exposed during the winter season. Checks of selected “test” plots both in the field and on aerial photography revealed that broomsedge actually did create a distinctive gray photo tone. By extending this “find,” Tyner developed photo-interpretation keys for identification of idle rural land in the Madison County area.2 Broomsedge was found to be the common denominator in the vegetative cover of the idle tracts, each of which exhibited vegetative “complexes” which rendered distinctive images on aerial photos. The cover “complexes” customarily involved setaria, pluchea camphorate and andropogon scaparius in varying quantities in addition to the broomsedge, plus minor quantities of other herbaceous plants. Four classes, or keys, of idle land cover were established by Tyner on the basis of photographic tone and textural differences [End Page 6] as related to observed variations in the vegetative cover in the field (Figure 2). In general, the longer any given plot had been idle the coarser the texture of its photo image because of a progressive buildup in the proportions of coarser, brownish, plants that it supported—such as the broomsedge and setaria with brush. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. A fifth photographic key became necessary: one which recognized incipient natural restocking by pines. Idle units of this type were those in which the beginnings of the “old field” pie succession were in evidence. If 15 per cent. or more, of such an area was occupied by the crowns of young pines and associated brush, the area was considered potential timberland and therefore not idle. Conversely, those areas wherein less than 15...

‘… Silver in the Stars and Gold in the Morning Sun’: Non-farm Rural Landowners' Motivations for Rural Living and Attachment to their Land

Studies have identified that, given the opportunity, the majority of North Americans would prefer to live in small towns and rural areas. This preference is based in aesthetic notions linked to landscape features, personal meaning, and perceptions. In order to understand how the growing non-farm rural landowner population will influence the rural landscape, this research explored the motivations of non-farm rural landowners for living in rural areas, and their perceptions of their property. It involved five preliminary focus groups with farm and non-farm landowners owning land in rural, urbanising rural, and urbanised rural areas, and four final focus groups. The research also included a survey of 944 landowners in Southern Ontario. People choose to live in rural areas because they are quiet, natural, open, private, and clean. In contrast, people chose to buy their properties for very practical reasons: location, cost, availability and quality of resources, and size. Results suggest that non-farm rural landowners prefer landscapes with trees and water, and landscape health, restorative benefits, and aesthetic quality are crucial. Associations with family, history, and activities provide the affective connection which supports ongoing efforts on their land.

Contradictions of “Doing Development”

We construct an economy composed of modern/formal sector and the government and situate it within an exogenously given traditional economy consisting of farm and non-farm activities. The particularities of interactions between formal sector, government and agriculture on one hand and between farm and non-farm sectors on the other are discussed and the departures from the literature are identified. Next, we propose, for accumulation and growth in formal sector a large part of agriculture is modernized and thus there is drain of resources from the traditional economy. This expropriates a sizeable section of non-farm population from the means of consumption and reproduction. Consequently, a vast “surplus population” is created endogenously, which remains outside the domain of capital. This phenomenon points at a fundamental conflict between the modern/formal sector and the traditional nonfarm activities in presence of agricultural-supply-constraint, which was missed out in the orthodox “dual economy” literature proposing only a frictionless transition. Next, following the dictum of “development management” we assume that this “surplus population” is rehabilitated in the newly “discovered” and valorized informal sector. But, contrary to the mainstream position which asserts a symbiotic relation between this informal sector and other sectors of a less-developed-economy we propose that, this promotion of informal activities either generates formal – informal contradiction or engenders a conflict within the non-modern economy in the form of contradiction between the valorized informal sector and the residual petty non-farm activities. Hence, the projection of informal sector as a cushion mitigating unemployment is nothing but a myth.

The Political Economy of Downzoning

“Substantial downzoning” is defined as the exercise of police power tosignificantly reducethe legally permitted density on undeveloped land in a community. This contentious practice is typically challenged by those who perceive the action to limit their market opportunities (e.g., farmers and developers), their sympathizers, and others who prefer the status quo. Supporters tend to be those who perceive positive benefits (e.g., environmentalists, conservationists, and homeowners) and those who see it as a supplement to other preservation techniques, based on concerns over such things as growing public costs of land acquisition, limited effectiveness of existing alternatives, or the perceived urgency to act to manage growth.Given the complexity of the issue and the lack of previous research, this paper develops a conceptual model of the public choice to “substantially downzone” and presents specific hypotheses to be empirically tested, using New Jersey as a case study. The probability of implementing substantial downzoning is found to increase with (i) the amount of open space that remains to be protected, (ii) declining farm population, (iii) recent growth in non-farm population, (iv) recent growth in land values, and (v) the presence of alternative growth management tools. Results also suggest its use as a substitute for other preservation tools when the financial and/or political ability of communities to afford other approaches is limited. Hence, the likelihood of substantial downzoning may increase over time if alternatives become more difficult to implement.

Rural Poverty Alleviation: India's Experiences and Needed Strategy

The paper primarily focuses the procedures of poverty alleviation in rural India. It has been discussed under two heads such as direct and indirect measures. Indirect measures mostly focus the achievement of economic growth and thus, alleviate rural poverty indirectly. The factors that have been discussed under this measure are agricultural growth, rural non-farm sector, rural infrastructure, governance, women empowerment, population growth and Public Distribution System (PDS). Direct measure, on the contrary, focuses sectoral and direct employment programmes that highlight the alleviation of rural poverty directly. These direct measures are discussed here in the form of self-employment, wage-employment and infrastructural development programmes. It finally concludes that there is need of strong governance along with participation of private sector, panchayats, Non Government Organisations (NGOs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) to implement the above measures effectively for alleviating rural poverty in the Indian economy.

Rural Population Growth, 1950–1990: The Roles of Human Capital, Industry Structure, and Government Policy

AbstractHuman capital raises rural incomes, but this effect is swamped by higher returns to human capital in urban markets. This leads to “brain drain” from rural areas. Populations grow more rapidly in rural counties that have a diversified employment base. Farm population grows faster (or declines more slowly) in counties with relatively high farm income, and nonfarm populations grow faster in counties with relatively high nonfarm income. However, higher farm incomes lead to slower nonfarm population growth and vice versa. Rural county government services financed by local taxes or debt have neutral or negative effects on population growth.

Woodlots in the rural landscape: landowner motivations and management attitudes in a Michigan (USA) case study

Woodlots provide important environmental benefits in the Midwestern (USA) landscape, where they are undergoing rapid change. An increasingly diverse farm and non-farm population owns these non-industrial private forests (NIPFs). It is essential to understand what motivates NIPF landowners to retain and manage their forests. We describe a study of NIPF owners in an agricultural watershed where forest cover is increasing. What motivations and management practices might be contributing to this increase? The results of a survey of 112 NIPF owners suggest that aesthetic appreciation is the strongest motivator for retaining woodlots, especially by non-farmers. Protecting the environment also seems to be important for both farmers and non-farmers, while economic motivations are significantly less important. Landowners indicated that they are primarily taking a “hands-off” approach to management. This study provides insights for those interested in understanding NIPF landowners’ motivations and for developing effective programs.

Economic Growth and Low Incomes in Agriculture

During most of the 20th century the U.S. farm economy generated low-average incomes and a higher incidence of than in the nonfarm population. When President Johnson's war on poverty was being waged in the 1960s, one of the key areas of concentration was rural poverty, spurred by estimates, for example, that 15% of nonfarm families but 31% of farm families were poor. In addition, this notwithstanding the use of a basic line of $3,100 for nonfarm but only $2,200 for nonfarm families (see Bryant). Yet by 1990 farm was reduced below that of the nonfarm population and the issue largely disappeared from the agenda of economists as well as politics. How did this happen? This paper analyzes data on low incomes among U.S. farm households since 1950, and investigates the reasons for improvement. I focus on market integration in the process of economic growth. It would seem at first glance almost tautological that economic growth would be helpful in reducing poverty. This would appear to be especially true in the worldwide context, where 72% of the world's poor people live in rural areas according to a World Bank estimate (World Bank, p. 22). However, many of the groups protesting the World Trade Organization (WTO) last December in Seattle, and the World Bank last April in Washington, believe that liberal trade and market-oriented policies aimed at economic growth have had the effect of increasing inequality and worsening the economic situation of the poor. Little evidence of this was provided, however, and the most convincing assessments I have seen reassert the more

A Note on New Estimates of the Distribution of Income in the 1920s

period from 1916 through 1929 is important to anyone interested in the history of income inequality in the United States. Current estimates suggest that income inequality increased in the antebellum period and reached a plateau of high income inequality from the Civil War to 1929.'' Inequality seems to have risen from the turn of the century to 1916 and then declined sharply during the First World War. 1920s brought a new surge of income inequality which, by 1929, pushed inequality to about the 1916 level.2 From 1929 to 1950 there was a significant decrease in income inequality in the United States followed by a period of relative distributional stability. Thus, 1916 and 1929 appear to have marked peaks in income inequality in the history of the United States. Because it directly preceded the Great Depression the surge of income inequality duning the prosperous 1920s has generated considerable interest. In 1946 Arthur Bums developed data which provided preliminary measures of this growing disparity, but the most iniportant evidence on changes in the distribution of income during the 1920s was presented in 1953 in Simon Kuznets's pathbreaking study, Shares of Upper Income Groups in Income and Savings. Kuznets carefully constructed income shares for upper-income percentiles of the total and nonfarm population. These shares provided evidence of increasing income inequality. For example, the share of disposable income ofthe top 1 percent of the nonfarm population rose from 13.13 percent in 1919 to 19.07 percent in 1929. From the business-cycle peak in 1923 to the cyclical peak in 1929 this share rose from 12.78 to 19.07 percent. Similar, though less pronounced, changes were found for the second and third, fourth and fifth, and sixth and seventh percentiles. share of disposable income for the lower 93 percent of the nonfarm population fell from 71.00 percent in 1919 to 69.74 percent in 1923 to 61.29 percent in 1929.4 In 1977 Charles Holt used Kuznets's data to estimate real per capita disposable incomes for nonfarn income percentiles. Holt found that the real per capita disposable incomes of the lower 93 percent of the nonfarm population fell 4 percent and concluded that, The inference is clear. Consumption increased markedly during the New Era in the face of little or no improvement in the consumption habits of the bulk of the nonfarm population.5 Recent research has shown that Kuznets's share estimates, and Holt's real per capita income estimates, overstate the rise in inequality during the twenties because no adjustments were made for changes in tax-avoidance behavior. This article draws upon new

Cropland Diversions and Rural Nonfarm Population Change

AbstractData from 100 farming-dependent counties in the U.S. are used to measure the impact of acreage reduction programs on the level of the rural nonfarm population. Results of a simultaneous equation model suggest that the programs had a negative influence on the number of rural nonfarm people, reducing the rural nonfarm population in these counties by an estimated 15-16% over the 1960-90 period.

The Great Southern Agricultural Transformation and Its Social Consequences

The great agricultural transformation within the South began early in this century, but between 1950 and 1980 reached its greatest intensity. This transformation dislocated many lives, most particularly blacks. Whereas there was a precipitous decline in both the white and black farm population during the transformation, whites were able to enter the southern rural nonfarm population more easily than the blacks. Blacks mainly left for large cities, mostly in the North. Today southern agriculture is practiced on a far larger scale than in the past, and much of it has become highly mechanized. In areas of the region's agriculture that have experienced little mechanization, Hispanics—many undocumented and thus vulnerable to exploitation—now meet much of the labor demand. Contract labor is replacing hired because farmers find it cheaper. Despite the modernization of much of the region's agriculture, there has been little change in its geographical distribution. As in the past, many southern counties continue to depend heavily on the sale of one agricultural commodity. Today, however, it is more frequently broiler chickens than cotton or tobacco.

Utilization of cancer early detection services among farm and rural nonfarm adults in Iowa.

An increase in the proportion of advanced malignancies among rural residents has been noted and may be due to a combination of factors, including availability of screening services, demographic characteristics, and access to health care facilities. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 33 nonmetropolitan Iowa counties among randomly selected middle-aged farm and rural nonfarm adults to compare utilization of cancer early detection services. A total of 1,126 adults in 600 farm households and 1,092 adults in 589 rural nonfarm households provided information through a 155-item in-home interview. Differences in income, age, and health insurance coverage (including preventive services) between the farm and nonfarm study populations were found. Although farm men were less likely to have had a checkup during the past year than men in the nonfarm population, no difference was found for women. Overall, differences in screening behaviors were small. Larger differences between both populations were observed for use of mammograms, prostate examinations among men age 50 and older, use of sigmoidoscopy among women age 50 and older, and skin cancer examinations among both sexes. When controlling for demographic characteristics and insurance coverage, members of the farm and rural nonfarm population were equally likely to use multiple screenings according to ACS guidelines. Because of the increased risk of breast cancer, interventions aimed at increasing utilization of mammography among women age 50 and older should be implemented. Although the farm population was more likely to use skin examinations, prevalence should be increased substantially to counteract the continuing rise in skin cancer.

Credit for Rural Poor in Pakistan

Farmers, large and small, and the non-farm population in rural areas all suffer from the liquidity constraint. Credit is needed to acquire command over the use of working capital, fixed capital, and consumption goods. The Green Revolution technologies have increased the credit requirement for modern inputs and farm investment. A new expanded role of rural credit institutions has emerged in the wake of the technology revol~tion in rural areas. Two distinct approaches have been used to provide the financial services to the rural poor. The most widely favoured approach in the past was the use of subsidised interest rates with a portion of credit reserved for the poor. The low interest policy was based on the premise that it would induce farmers, large and small, to use modern' inputs on a larger scale. One of the adverse side-effect of this policy was the introduction of an element of financial unsustainability in the loan portfolios of the credit institutions. The recent view about the delivery of rural credit consists of using market interest rates and using a mixture of 'bottom-up initiatives' at the local level, using non-government groups and 'top-down initiatives' by the formal credit institutions in terms of the simplification of the procedures and decentralisation of the credit operation for credit supply to the rural poor. In this paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the efficacy of these two approaches in the case of Pakistan for delivering credit to the rural poor.

Spersopolis

A distinctive pattern of dispersed settlement along highways has evolved in parts of the Southeast since World War II. Everyone is familiar with this new pattern, but it has developed so gradually and incrementally that most people have simply taken it for granted. Few scholars have tried to describe and analyze it, even though it might well represent the ideal populist American city. We have neither the data nor the techniques to quantify and map its distribution, but we invoke Gödel's Theorem to justify our attempt to describe it. The new settlement system seems to be most highly developed on the Piedmont of the Carolinas and Georgia and in the Great Valley of eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. We have dubbed this region Spersopolis for want of any better vernacular name. Although we cannot map the extent of the new pattern directly, it seems to be closely associated with such surrogate variables as dense rural nonfarm population, large numbers of inter-county commuters, large numbers of workers employed in manufacturing, and heavy reliance on mobile homes, all of which attain their apogee in Spersopolis.

Urban influences on farmland use in New York State

This article assesses the relationship between demographic change and structural adjustments in agriculture. A number of demographic and economic analyses have posited an inverse relationship between post-1950 exurban population growth and agricultural viability, especially in the Northeast Region of the USA. To test this hypothesis, a multivariate model of percent change in county land in farms over the period 1950–1987 is estimated, and the findings only partially support the population hypothesis. Estimation results indicate that the effect of core metropolitan status is significant, but that the effects of rural population change, rural nonfarm population change, and county population deconcentration are not. The analysis demonstrates that maintenance of land in farm use largely depends upon economic forces that are national and regional in scope, and almost exclusively outside the purview of state and local farmland protection programs.