We examine the labour market impacts of the largest livelihoods programs in the world, India's Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). A key aspect of this program is to mobilize rural women into self-help groups (SHGs). We combine administrative data on SHG...

There is little knowledge about the shape, prominence and drivers of work-to-work transitions in low- and middle-income countries. This paper examines these elements in the context of South Africa and Indonesia - two middle-income countries with similar development levels yet different labour...

This study examined the gender-differentiated effects of improved land property rights on labor reallocation using quasi-exogenous variation in the timing of the implementation of the Rural Land Contracting Law in China, which allows farmers to lease out their land. We found that while both men...

This study examines the effectiveness of a place-based policy targeting rural areas in Japan to address regional economic disparities. The policy offers financial incentives to regions with significant declines in population and an aging population to increase capital investment and public...

We study how rural households in Ethiopia adapt to droughts through labor reallocation. By using three waves of panel data and exploiting spatial-temporal variations in drought exposure, we find that households reduce on-farm work and increase off-farm self-employment in response to both...

In 2003, China launched the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), a public healthcare plan targeting rural households. While the literature mostly considers the impact of NCMS coverage on health outcomes, we investigate potential impacts on labor supply and household savings levels. To mitigate...

Africa's rural population continues to expand rapidly and labor productivity in agriculture and many rural off farm activities remains low. This paper uses the lens of a dual economy and the associated patterns of agricultural, rural, and structural transformation to review the evolution of...

Low productivity - rather than absolute employment levels - is the main labor market challenge in Cameroon, where vulnerable employment in the form of subsistence farming or self-employment in the informal sector remains the norm. Low-skill, low-pay agricultural work is prevalent in rural areas,...

Internal migration flows from rural to urban areas have greatly contributed to population declines in many rural areas across both Europe and the US. At the same time there is mounting evidence for a tight connection between internal migration and shifts in labor demand, with the latter being...

Internal migration flows from rural to urban areas have greatly contributed to population declines in many rural areas across both Europe and the US. At the same time there is mounting evidence for a tight connection between internal migration and shifts in labor demand, with the latter being...

Female labor force participation increased worldwide between 1990 and 2015. In India, it decreased 22% from a low rate of 37%. Rural married women drove the decrease, which began right after the implementation of a policy guaranteeing employment for rural households. I document the following....

This paper examines the role of search and information frictions on wage dispersion. Job search costs are high in rural labor markets in developing countries. The flow of information on jobs and wages is limited, and wages tend to be dispersed. To lower search costs, I develop an SMS-based...

This study examines the potential, initiation, and subsequent development of edutourism in a rural destination located in Bali, Indonesia. It aims to combine the findings from previous studies on the area’s tourism potentials with primary research conducted by the authors, then to analyze the...

Started as a pilot in 200 of the poorest districts of India in February 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a demand-based public works programme which entitles every rural household in India to 100 days of waged employment. MGNREGA envisages women’s...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the consumption habits of tourists to benefit sustainable destinations that are not overcrowded, such as rural tourism destinations. However, the periods of compulsory lockdown have had devastating effects on tourism businesses operating in rural areas and have...

India experienced one of the strictest lockdowns during COVID-19 and sections of the workforce seemed overwhelmingly disadvantaged. Given substantial poverty still, marginalized daily wage labor and gendered outcomes in the context of India, economic shocks are expected to have disparate...

This paper provides a literature review on youth employment challenges in rural Africa. The rapidly changing demographic structure across the continent is expected to have important economic and social consequences, especially for employment. So far, despite sustained economic growth, African...

Africa's rural population continues to expand rapidly and labor productivity in agriculture and many rural off farm activities remains low. This paper uses the lens of a dual economy and the associated patterns of agricultural, rural, and structural transformation to review the evolution of...

Low productivity - rather than absolute employment levels - is the main labor market challenge in Cameroon, where vulnerable employment in the form of subsistence farming or self-employment in the informal sector remains the norm. Low-skill, low-pay agricultural work is prevalent in rural areas,...

This study analyzes the results of a randomized control trial in thirty villages of rural western Kenya. The intervention combined several days of community group counseling with two weeks of household therapy sessions with cohabiting spouses in which at least one spouse is alcohol using. Using...

The purpose of this study is to look at development trends and patterns of structural change in India's rural and labour markets. The rural labour strength have been moving from agricultural sector to non-agricultural sector for a living, after a long period of change (due to pain and...

This study contributes to the current understanding of what drives physicians to practice in rural areas by analyzing new, comprehensive survey data of practicing physicians in the United States. This research confirmed that rural origin is an important and reliable predictor for rural practice...

This study investigates the determinants of smallholders' participation in rural off-farm activities, which includes rural non-farm own business and wage employment, and its effect on food shortage, relative deprivation and dietary diversity. To address these objectives, we use a three-wave...

This paper examines whether workers living in rural areas are more likely to be self-employed, compared with those in urban areas. We provide evidence for 35 European countries, using the European Working Conditions Survey for the year 2015. We also study the time devoted to market work, and...

India experienced one of the strictest lockdowns during COVID-19 and sections of the workforce seemed overwhelmingly disadvantaged. Given substantial poverty still, marginalized daily wage labor and gendered outcomes in the context of India, economic shocks are expected to have disparate...

This study examines the gender-differentiated effects of improved land property rights on labor reallocation using quasi-exogenous variation in the timing of the implementation of the Rural Land Contracting Law in China, which allows farmers to lease out their land. We find that while both men...

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, later renamed as “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” (MGNREGA) is an Act which guarantees the “right to work” in rural India. MGNREGA in its framework has provisions for creation of durable rural assets with the...

Uttar Pradesh has a huge upside potential for economic growth if its people are engaged more productively. This study cursorily reviews the prospects of employment creation and argues that UP should focus on the secondary and tertiary sectors for generating self-employment opportunities. In this...

Using the nationally representative Indian Human Development Survey, we study whether use of cleaner energy source for cooking leads to increased female work participation. We categorize women household into three groups by the cooking fuel they use: biomass, mixed fuel, and modern fuel. The...

Over the last two decades, location tax incentives programs serving as a motivating force have been progressively well known as activities to draw in and/or hold foreign direct investments (FDIs) in economically blighted areas. The study examined the impact of location tax incentives on the...

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies' (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on women's involvement in rural...

Cameroon's high employment levels mask widespread precariousness and rural-urban inequality. Labor market vulnerability-either detachment or weak attachment-is particularly acute among youth (ages 15 to 35), who are often uninterested in agriculture yet unable to access better opportunities in...

India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is the largest public-works based rural livelihood programme in the world. One of the important policy objectives of the Scheme is to curb rural out-migration by guaranteeing demand-driven employment opportunities for...

This paper analyses the extent to which the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) impacted women in rural areas. The paper achieves this goal by exploring and comparing various different research papers on the implementation of MGNREGA. The results are divided...

While several studies have linked rural welfare with non-farm employment, the available evidence suggests that whether participation in non-farm employment is welfare improving is intrinsically an empirical question. In addition, the existing literature has focused on either food or total...

This paper aims to assess the status and trends in employment achievements in the state of Odisha in India. It explores the extent to which rural development programs have responded to employment generation. This is a review of the achievements made under direct or indirect employment generation...

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) was introduced in 2006 by the Government of India to provide 100 days’ assurance employment for the poor rural citizen to make their employment security. The Mahatma Gandhi NREGA sponsors various schemes for helping rural...

Many US local economic development strategies rely on tax and other monetary incentives to attract employers. This study looks at whether other incentives related to “economic freedom” and labor market regulation could also improve local conditions. Two measures developed by Murphy (JRAP,...

The present study contributes to the literature on labour reallocation and adaptation in response to weather anomalies. Existing literature on labour mobility and weather shocks primarily focus on migration to the neglect of worker commuting as a potential adaptation strategy. Utilising...

The paper examines the adequacy of the health workforce in the public health sector in rural India. We find that even after a decade of implementation of the NRHM, India’s rural health sector has been suffering from an acute shortage of health workforce. The shortage of health workforce...