Rural Labour Market Research Articles

Migrants of the post-soviet space as a resource of the Russian rural labor market

Human resources are the most important factor in the socio-economic development of the economy, including the economy of the agricultural sphere (meaning the organic unity of agricultural production and rural areas). In this regard, the authors of the study pay special attention to the analysis of the situation of its staffing, primarily in terms of studying the processes occurring in the human resources potential of mass professions, specialists and managers of agricultural organizations in Russia. The analysis was carried out according to the departmental reports of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. The article shows the dependence of the agricultural labor market, characterized by a shortage of personnel, both mass professions and specialists, on the internal factor (training of personnel) and external (attraction of migrants), examines the modern agricultural labor market, describes the multidirectional trends in the supply of labor both at the expense of migrants and at the expense of the domestic system of professionalization of personnel. It is determined that the outflow of rural population within and between the regions of Russia is more extensive than the inflow due to migration exchange with foreign countries, this disparity increases during the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and related social distancing measures. At the same time, despite the constantly observed decline in the number of workers in mass professions in the agro-industrial complex, the availability of jobs is almost at the same level of 93–95 %. It is shown that the income of migrants and the transfer of part of the funds to the countries of emigration have a positive effect on GDP growth and poverty reduction in these countries, and the quality of exported labor also improves. The relationship between rural migration and agricultural production is revealed. As a result of the study, the authors come to the conclusion that the state migration policy should stimulate the consolidation of the rural population and the return migration of the urban population to the rural area, and increase the attractiveness of rural areas for resettlement through the formation of unified rural-urban labor markets and rural-urban agglomerations.

Rural Transformation and Labor Market Outcomes among Rural Youths in Nigeria

In Nigeria, unemployment in rural areas translates to economic problems, such as high levels of rural–urban migration. Interventions aimed at promoting rural transformation and development are designed to generate employment by promoting the growth of sectors such as manufacturing and services in rural areas. In this study, the General Household Survey (GHS) panel data for the post-planting and post-harvest periods of the 2011/2012 and 2015/2016 cropping seasons for Nigeria was used to investigate developments in rural areas in Nigeria between 2011 and 2015, and identified how these developments influenced labor market outcomes among rural youths. Fixed effect models were employed to control for unobserved heterogeneity that may exist because of the different years in the data used. Key levers of sustainable social and economic development, such as access to finance, health services, markets, and infrastructure such as electricity, were considered. The empirical results from the study revealed that being educated as well as having access to infrastructure and information had positive effects on the number of youths that took up wage/salary employment in the rural areas. The study concluded that the diversification of youths into other sectors would have higher growth effects on the development of rural areas, as they can invest more in agriculture, while also reducing the level of dependence on the sector. The study recommends an increase in budgetary allocations for education and rural development projects, with a special focus on electricity and financial institutions, while increasing access to information on available job opportunities.

Modern forms of professional education modernization of rural youth

The article is devoted to an experimental study conducted between September 2017 and September 2020 at Aktobe Regional University named after K. Zhubanov and Khromtau Mining and Technical College of Aktobe Region. The purpose is to study the modernizing aspects of the specialized education of rural youth through the development and operation of internship sites on the example of educational organizations of the Aktobe region. Research methodology include a set of empirical and theoretical methods: abstraction, analogy, modeling, analysis, synthesis; study of economic, social, psychological and pedagogical literature; experiment; modeling, forecasting, argument; psychodiagnostic methods: survey, questionnaire, testing. The end result is the form of work of internship sites in the professional education system, intended for rural students. Methodology, technological, social and economic aspects have been developed. It is also necessary to highlight the advantage of internship sites - coverage of practical-oriented educational bases according to the received specialties.
 Keywords: vocational education, internship sites, dual education, digitalization, rural youth, rural labor market.

Women's Income-Generating Activities and Gender Roles in Rural Households in Mayo Danay Division, Northern Cameroon

In sub-Saharan Africa, women participate in the rural labor market where they are present in subsistence agro-pastoral activities, which are more domestic work and, in other income-generating rural activities such as trading. Within the studies carried out on women’s status in communities, those on women's access to income-generating activities in certain contexts such as Ghanaian urban areas, have revealed that, income-generating activities contribute to a redistribution of gender roles in households. This paper by questioning the impacts of women's economic activities on gender relations within households in rural areas of Northern Cameroon, aims to analyse the realities faced by women involved in income-generating activities in a particular rural area to assess if the changes mentioned above happened in all communities. The data used for this work are empirical data from a qualitative survey of 48 women living in 8 villages in Mayo Danay, an administrative territory in Northern Cameroon. The results of this survey reveal that rural women involved in income-generating activities are both breadwinners and domestic workers. Contrary to what was observed in Ghana, the status of female breadwinners does not participate in the emancipation of women. Indeed, even with their means of production, women are still dependent on men and are still alone to bear the burden of the domestic work. Access of women to income-generating activities and their participation in household expenditures have surely reduced poverty in households but have not contributed to gender roles changes.

Changing Employment Conditions in the Rural Labour Market of West Bengal

Changing Employment Conditions in the Rural Labour Market of West Bengal

The family context of ASHA and Anganwadi work in rural Rajasthan: Gender and labour in CHW programmes

ABSTRACT Across the literature on CHWs globally, the role of CHWs’ families remains largely unexplored. This article focuses on ASHAs and Anganwadi Workers in a town in rural Rajasthan, India. We interviewed all twenty ASHAs and Anganwadi Workers in this town, and ten of their families; we also conducted participant observation in Anganwadi Centers, health centres, and family settings. ASHA and Anganwadi work was in high demand, despite being low paying, because of an overall lack of jobs for educated women. Every aspect of CHW work, from recruitment to selection to training to the number of hours spent on the job, was heavily determined by families. Women’s mobility, income, and workload was tied up in family structures. ASHA and Anganwadi Work increased the mobility and autonomy of the women who held those jobs in significant ways. But mostly, women stayed in these extremely low paying jobs because they and their families hoped that one day they would become permanent jobs with salaries and benefits. By providing honourable work, and keeping the idea of permanent employment in view but always just out of reach, the ASHA and Anganwadi programmes both exploited and strengthened gendered inequalities in the rural Rajasthani labour market.

FUNDAMENTALS OF HR MARKETING RESEARCH OF THE RURAL LABOUR MARKET IN LABOUR-SURPLUS REGIONS

The article outlines the methodological foundations of HR marketing research of the rural labour market in labour-surplus regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the conditions of the functioning of a socially oriented market economy. The work examines the interrelated stages of HR marketing research in order to obtain reliable marketing information about the demand and supply of labour in the rural labour market: identifying problems and forming the goals of HR marketing research, collecting and analyzing information on the main elements of the rural labour market, determining the volumes and reasons disproportions between the demand and supply of the rural labour force, determining the scale, forms and causes of rural unemployment, developing targeted measures to reduce rural unemployment and improving its qualifications, determining the volumes and structures of new specialties and professions required, reconciling the proportions between the demand, supply and price of labour villages, multivariate forecast for the main components of the rural labour market, production, placement and sale of advertising products and preparation of strategic plans for marketing activities of rural employment promotion centers.

The impact of metropolitan technology on the non-metropolitan labour market: evidence from US patents

ABSTRACT While urban technology exerts a positive effect on rural development through knowledge spillovers, it also raises the competitive advantage of urban firms over rural firms in product market competition. Urban technology also affects the rural labour market through brain drain. Using US county-level data, we find a negative relationship between metropolitan patent counts and non-metropolitan labour market performance. Our basic calculation indicates that, between 2005 and 2015, metropolitan technological progress was associated with a relative loss of about 2.5 million non-metropolitan jobs.

COVID-19 Crisis and Some Contours of the Rural Labour Market in India

Indian labour markets are segmented based on caste, gender groups, region, types of workers and types of contractual arrangements. An important feature of the labour markets in India, notwithstanding intersectionalities across segments, is greater access to high-quality work with social security benefits to the privileged sections of the society as compared to the socially oppressed sections, including women. The latter dominate in low-quality, less stable and insecure work in the informal sector.The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures have increased the vulnerability of the informal workers, including the migrant workers. The article analyses the features of rural and urban labour markets, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, that had contributed to vulnerability of the workforce. The analysis was based on the National Statistical Office ( NSO, 2020 )—Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) database of 2018–2019, NSSO (2014)—Report of the Situation of Agricultural Households in India, NSSO (2014)—Employment and Unemployment Survey, Labour Bureau, and the Economic Survey of India. It also analyses the impacts of the pandemic on the rural labour market based on the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) database. Our analysis reveals that the rural labour market in India was more adversely affected by the lockdown measures than the urban counterpart. In the rural areas, there was collapse of non-farm employment and increased participation in agricultural work was largely an outcome of distress. Furthermore, reverse migration of workers had led to sharp decline in remittances, particularly in the eastern Indian states that are largely agrarian and poor. The article advocates policy initiatives that include expansion of the rural employment programmes for providing relief to the poor and working population in India.

Migration potential of the post-soviet space as a resource of the Russian rural labor market

Human resources are the most important factor in the socio-economic development of the econo-my, including the economy of the agricultural sphere (meaning the organic unity of agricultural production and rural areas). In this regard, the authors of the study pay special attention to the analysis of the situation of its staffing, primarily in terms of studying the processes occurring in the human resources potential of mass professions, specialists and managers of agricultural organ-izations in Russia. The analysis was carried out according to the departmental reports of the Min-istry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. The article shows the dependence of the agricultur-al labor market, characterized by a shortage of personnel, both mass professions and specialists, on the internal factor (training of personnel) and external (attraction of migrants), examines the modern agricultural labor market, describes the multidirectional trends in the supply of labor both at the expense of migrants and at the expense of the domestic system of professionalization of personnel. It is determined that the outfl ow of rural population within and between the regions of Russia is more extensive than the inflow due to migration exchange with foreign countries, this disparity increases during the pandemic caused by COVID-19 and related social distancing measures. At the same time, despite the constantly observed decline in the number of workers in mass professions in the agro-industrial complex, the availability of jobs is almost at the same lev-el of 93–95 %. It is shown that the income of migrants and the transfer of part of the funds to the countries of emigration have a positive effect on GDP growth and poverty reduction in these countries, and the quality of exported labor also improves. The relationship between rural migration and agricultural production is revealed. As a result of the study, the authors come to the conclu-sion that the state migration policy should stimulate the consolidation of the rural population and the return migration of the urban population to the rural area, and increase the attractiveness of rural areas for resettlement through the formation of unified rural-urban labor markets and agglomerations.

Вплив карантинних обмежень, пов’язаних із COVID-19, на ринок праці та зайнятість у сільській місцевості

The purpose of the article is to assess the impact of restrictive quarantine measures in 2020-2021 related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rural labor market, the level of employment and the extent of rural poverty. Research methods. The basis for the study were general scientific and economic methods, creative heritage of the classical political economy founders, publications of Ukrainian scientists on the impact of quarantine restrictions related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, on social and labor relations in rural areas, regulations, data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and the State Employment Service, Internet resources and other sources. The monographic approach was used in the analysis of the employment rate dynamics of the rural population, changes in the labor market and the scale of poverty caused by the lockdowns introduction in 2020-2021. Normative and positive approaches are used to highlight the labor potential of rural areas and opportunities for its implementation in a pandemic. A number of abstract-logical techniques allowed formulating intermediate and final conclusions and proposals. Research results. The phenomenon of the category "labor" as a process of conscious and purposeful activity on the transformation of natural and economic factors of production in order to meet human needs is considered. The institutional preconditions of spatial differences in the concentration of jobs in rural and urban areas and the deepening of inequality in their development are highlighted. Changes caused by a number of restrictions on economic activity in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine are analyzed, in the field of the rural population employment by age groups, employment status, unemployment among working-age people, the number of employees who received unemployment status, as well as the workload per vacancy registered with the State Employment Service, the dynamics of its provision of services to rural residents. Public opinion that in the employment and rural labor market due to non-compliance with quarantine restrictions on economic activity, technological features of agricultural production and lower density, the rural population suffers less from quarantine measures is refuted. As a result of the introduction of two all-Ukrainian lockdowns in 2020–2021, the number of employed rural population decreased by 361 thousand people, or by 7%, of them employed - by 198 thousand and self-employed - by 153 thousand. The unemployment rate for this period also increased by 1.7 percentage points, or 11.5%. In April-May 2021, almost 120,000 workers received the status of unemployed dismissed from agricultural, forestry and fisheries enterprises, or one in five of the total in the economy. In addition, the number of applicants for one vacancy in rural areas has doubled, while reducing the financial capacity of the State Employment Service, especially with regard to the implementation of active forms of employment recovery. An integral consequence of quarantine restrictions was the spread of poverty among the rural population and the further social exclusion of people with unprotected self-employment. Scientific novelty. Methodological approaches to assessing the negative impact of quarantine restrictions related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural employment, the rural labor market and the well-being of rural households have been further developed. Practical significance. The results of the impact of quarantine restrictions on employment and the rural labor market in 2020-2021 may be taken into account when developing measures to support micro and small businesses and self-employed agricultural workers in extreme conditions of society, such as a pandemic. Tabl.: 3. Figs.: 5. Refs.: 35.

Spheres of Employment in Rural Areas of the Penza Region and the Republic of Tatarstan (Based on Statistics and Interview Materials)

The problems of the rural labor market are relevant for the Russian rural economy and have their own characteristics in the regions. The article analyzes the employment opportunities provided by the rural environment of the Penza region and the Republic of Tatarstan. The villagers in these regions are employed in the formal sphere (employment in large agricultural organizations, peasant farms, work in budgetary organizations, engaging in agricultural and non-agricultural business) and in the informal sphere (work in private farmsteads, one-time hired employment, earnings on the road). According to the All-Russian Agricultural Census 2016 and expert assessments in interviews, rural residents of the Penza region more often than in the Republic of Tatarstan develop non-agricultural businesses, hire workers to work in private farmsteads, participate more actively in labor migration, preferring to leave for large Russian cities and especially to Moscow. The villagers of Tatarstan more often than in the region are employed in large agricultural organizations; they hire workers in farms, prefer to develop agricultural business, go to work, mainly in the cities of the republic. In both regions, the processes of demographic aging of the countryside, migration activity of young people, issues of low wages, a shortage of qualified personnel and seasonal employment in rural areas are relevant.

Labor market trends in Akmola region of Kazakhstan

The purpose of the study is to examine main trends and phenomena on labor market in agriculture. In the process of studying this problem, it was revealed that most of the employed population of the region lives in rural areas. It has been determined that at present the rural labor market is characterized by decrease in the number of employed in agricultural sector of economy, deterioration in the quality parameters characterizing the use of labor, discrepancy between the level of competence of specialists and the demands of expanded reproduction and efficiency of labor resources, and growing imbalance in the demand and supply of qualified workers. It has been determined that in conditions of unemployment in rural areas, the increased shortage of professional personnel in the main mass specialties in agro-industrial production has been noted among residents. The analysis of the structure of the employed in Akmola region was done, which showed significant differences between employment in urban and rural areas. A negative trend is shown which is associated with increase in proportion of the population, whose age exceeds the working age, in the total population of the village. Comparative analysis of sectoral structure of rural employment showed a decrease in the share of people who are employed in agriculture. In the course of the study, the main reasons for the rural population flow to the city have been determined. The main factors contributing to the return of skilled workers to agricultural sector are indicated. Priority areas of labor supply for rural residents have been identified, the most important of which are the development of small and medium-sized businesses in rural areas, as well as self-employment in private households. A number of measures aimed to increase the effectiveness of functioning of labor market in rural areas are proposed.

Time Allocation between Paid and Unpaid Work among Men and Women: An Empirical Study of Indian Villages

The paper examines the time allocation between paid work (wage earning or self-employed work generally termed as employment work) and unpaid (domestic chores/care work generally termed as non-employment work) along with wage rates, imputed earnings, and occupational structure among men and women and according to different social groups to establish the extent to which the rural labour market is discriminated by sex and social group. The major objective of the paper is to show the differential in wage income between men and women in farm and non-farm activities. The paper also shows the division of time between employment and non-employment activities by men and women. The paper uses high-frequency data and applies econometric techniques to know the factors behind time allocation among different activities across gender. The study finds that males spend more hours on employment work and work at a higher wage rate than females. As a result, a vast monetary income gap between men and women is observed, even though women worked more hours if employment and non-employment activities are jointly taken into consideration. Time spent on employment work and non-employment (mainly domestic chores) has been found to vary significantly due to social identity, household wealth, land, income, education, and skill. The segregation of labour market by sex was evident in this study, with men shifting to non-farm occupations with greater monetary returns and continued dependence on women’s farm activities. Enhancing the ownership of land and other assets, encouraging women’s participation particularly among minorities, and improving health are some of the policy recommendations directed from this study to enhance participation in employment work and shifting towards higher wage income employment.

Gender in agriculture: Determinants of female labor supply decisions among rural households in the context of market imperfections in Pakistan

AbstractWelfare of the household depends on the better understanding of time allocation among different sectors in response to changes in economic conditions. This article estimates labor supply of male and female of rural households regarding activities for own‐farm, agricultural‐wage, and nonfarm sector. The study utilizes the cross‐sectional data of 341 rural households of the Punjab, Pakistan through random sampling technique. In Pakistan, like other developing countries, gender‐based wage data are almost nonexistent, and functioning of labor market is imperfect. Therefore, reservation wages are calculated through production function analysis. Our results reveal that literacy rate, social status, and rural infrastructure are key determinants in the rural labor market. Hypothesis of separability in agricultural household models is tested by applying three tests. Separability hypothesis is rejected on the bases of results indicating the presence of imperfect labor market in rural settings of Pakistan. The findings suggest that policy makers should focus on educational opportunities, infrastructure development, and minimizing entry barriers in labor market, especially for females, regarded as socially backward class in order to raise economic conditions of rural dwellers in Pakistan.

Youth Entrepreneurial Activity in the Development of Rural Green Tourism: the Case of Ukraine

The subject of the research is the entrepreneurial potential of young people in the development of rural green tourism in Ukraine. Studies of trends in the rural labour market in terms of modernisation of the agrarian sector and the impact of world trends in transforming the role of rural territories have been taken into account. The development of entrepreneurship in the agricultural and industrial complex, including rural tourism, is one way of solving the youth employment problem. In the study, the authors rely on an assessment of the potential of rural green tourism in Ukraine, which is significant. The main directions of youth entrepreneurship in rural green tourism are identified. The article focuses on promoting the realisation of the potential of youth in rural green tourism businesses. Specific examples show features of labour motivation and highlight opportunities for its increase in entrepreneurship in rural green tourism. It is proposed to create conditions for the activation of youth entrepreneurship in rural green tourism. The authors come to the conclusion that modern youth, as a specific socio-demographic group, are a reserve for the multiplication of the labour force in the agricultural sector, and are a strategic resource for the development of rural areas through entrepreneurship in various fields, including rural green tourism.

Gender Disparity in Employment and Wages in Rural Labour Market in Odisha: Some Survey Findings and Empirical Analysis

Gender disparity prevails through various attributes, including gender specificity of agricultural operations, discriminating women in terms of wages, and system of wage payments. This paper employed a t-test to investigate the degree of gender disparity in the rural labour market in Cuttack district of Odisha, covering one irrigated village, Bahalpada, and a non-irrigated village Erancha with a sample of 50 female labourers, 20 male labourers, and ten employers from each village, where irrigation was used as the indicator of agricultural development. The results indicated no significant difference in the days of work available to males and females in farm activities in the irrigated village Bahalpada; however, there was a significant positive difference in male-female labour days in agricultural work non-irrigated village Erancha. Despite non-significant differences in days of employment in farm activities, the gender-based wage differentials persisted and were more pronounced in the non-irrigated village than in irrigated villages.

Between heritage and modernity employment and incomes in rural post-communist Romania

The paper follows up the changes emerged in employment and living standards of Romanian rural households over the post-communist period. On the background of the main changes in the socioeconomic context, rural employment is related to the situation by the beginning of the post-communist transition, and to urban employment developments. Based on secondary data analysis, an unfavorable rural labor market profile and educational structure are identified. However, improvements in the employment characteristics for the last decade might be noticed, together with overall income increase and marked inequality against the urban. Keywords: employment; rural development; inequality; rural ‒ urban.

Вплив COVID-19 на аграрний сектор та продовольчу безпеку держави

The purpose of the article is to systematize the impact factors of quarantine measures related to COVID-19 on the agrarian sector and food security and assess their socio-economic consequences. Research methods. The methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach to the study of the studied phenomena and processes and dialectical method of cognition, that which allow to comprehensively consider the processes, related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictive measures on the agrarian sector and food security of the country. When generalizing the theoretical and methodological aspects of the study, systematizing the factors of impact, the techniques of the abstract-logical method, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, analogy and comparison were used. In order to assess the trends in the development of the agrarian sector in analytical studies, economic and statistical methods were used (comparative analysis, relative values, trend analysis etc.). Research results. The impact factors of quarantine measures related to COVID-19 pandemic on the agrarian sector with the selection of ten groups of stimulants and disincentives, exogenous and endogenous effects have been identified and systematized. This made it possible to determine the synergistic effect of their interaction. The socio-economic consequences of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictive measures on the domestic agrarian sector and food security were assessed in the following areas: production of agri-food products, its sales in domestic and foreign markets, investments, efficiency of economic activity, rural labor market, employment in the agrarian sector. Scientific novelty. Theoretical and methodological provisions, scientific-methodical and practical approaches to systematization of impact factors of quarantine measures and the spread of COVID-19 pandemic on agrarian sector, food security and assessing the degree of their influence on the socio-economic development of the industry are substantiated. Practical significance. The principal thesis and conclusions set out in the article have been brought to the level of practical recommendations, the implementation of which will allow to substantiate management decisions in the implementation of effective state policy for the development and support of the agrarian sector, ensuring the adaptability of national producers to restrictive quarantine measures in the context of COVID-19 pandemic spread. Tabl.: 5. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 29.

Unemployment in the context of sustainable rural development

Subject. This article discusses the issues of employment and unemployment in rural areas of Russia. Objectives. The article aims to study the processes taking place in the rural labor market and assess the regional specific features of unemployment. Methods. For the study, we used the methods of logical, comparative, and economics and statistics analyses. Results. The article defines homogeneous types of territorial entities and describes strategies for regulating the rural labor market. Conclusions. The main negative trend in the labor market is the reduction of jobs in agriculture. Employment should be a determining factor in any rural development economic projects to balance supply and demand in the labor market.