Rural non-agricultural activities and poverty in the Brazilian northeast

Arbeitspapier

This paper combines two complementary data sets to present a disaggregated spatial profile of poverty in the Brazilian Northeast, and to investigate the importance of non-agricultural activities for its rural dwellers. We present both univariate and multivariate profiles of non-agricultural employment and discuss its determinants. While the main occupational difference between the rural poor and the rural non-poor in Brazil seems to be the greater reliance of the former on paid agricultural employment (vis-à-vis own cultivation), rather than access to non-agricultural activities, the evidence nevertheless suggests that diversification into this growing sector provides both an important complement to the budgets of the poor, and possibly a self-insurance mechanism against negative shocks. Despite the substantial heterogeneity of the sector, two general findings are robust: returns to education are comparatively high; and location in relation to urban areas is an important determinant of both employment and earnings in rural non-agricultural activities.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Texto para discussão ; No. 428

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Measurement and Analysis of Poverty ; Agricultural Labor Markets

Contributors, Location and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): de Hollanda Guimarães Ferreira, Francisco ; Lanjouw, Peter
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Departamento de Economia
• (where): Rio de Janeiro
• (when): 2000

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/186672
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:46 AM CET