Change Makers? Women's Microenterprises in a Bolivian City

If entrepreneurs are society's innovators, what is the role of businesspeople in poor countries — particularly, the ‘micro’ businesspeople that make up the majority? What hope for decreasing poverty and improving livelihoods do microbusinesses offer? In particular, what is the role of women microentrepreneurs, whose incomes have been understood to contribute a great deal to the well‐being of poor households? This paper is based on case studies collected in the late 1990s in Sucre, Bolivia, a context in which many women are the owners of independent microenterprises. Women in Sucre control a range of microenterprises in the commerce, production and service sectors and are recognized as businesspeople by their spouses, families and people in their community. Under such conditions of ‘empowered’ business ownership, what is the potential of these businesses to decrease poverty? The study explores the business experiences of women microentrepreneurs, their priorities, entrepreneurial abilities and the obstacles they face. It suggests the kinds of business activities which women in Sucre are most likely to undertake and the income levels which these activities generally attract. Finally, it indicates that, while women in Sucre can control resources and take advantage of opportunities as businesswomen, other constraints mean that most women's businesses have only a limited ability to decrease poverty. ‘Microenterprise development’ alone is insufficient to address the complex relationships affecting how these women and their households access resources.     

Between Land Grabbing and Farmers' Benefits: Land Transfers in West Kalimantan,Indonesia

Rapid growth of oil palm cultivation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia has increased both the pace and size of land transfers from farmers to big companies and city-based investors. This process has been widely conceptualised as ‘top-down land grabbing’ but this perspective largely neglects the agency of the farmers. This paper seeks to shed light on the agency of farmers with respect to how they respond to land transfer schemes. Through a study of land transfers under nucleus estate schemes (NES), schemes that were introduced by the Indonesian government in which smallholding farms are integrated parts of a modern, large size plantation company, we will show that agrarian dynamics are shaped by notions of what is ‘fair’ and ‘just’.     

The Persistence of the Black Farmer: The Contemporary Relevance of the Lenin-Chayanov Debate1

Abstract Previous empirical studies of black farmers have identified socioeconomic and demographic variables as important to their success and survival. The theories of Lenin and Chayanov also highlight the role of demographic and socioeconomic factors in the differentiation of the peasantry. Panel data from a survey of black small-scale farm operators in the North Carolina Piedmont are used to test hypotheses based upon the Lenin-Chayanov debate. A multivariate analysis shows that black farmers who survived owned tobacco quota, had more on-farm household labor, had smaller households, and had higher gross farm incomes than those who left agriculture. These results point to the need to synthesize Lenin's macro-level focus on class formation and Chayanov's micro-level focus on enterprise formation in order to understand smallholder persistence. Over the five-year period studied, approximately 50 percent of the original respondents were no longer actively operating farms indicating that the future of the black smallholder remains precarious.     

Looking within the household: a study on gender,food security,and resilience in cocoa-growing communities

Many West African cocoa households experience a ‘lean season’ before the cocoa harvest, leaving them vulnerable to various events and issues which potentially cause stress – most notably food insecurity. This study, relying primarily on qualitative data from Côte d'Ivoire, examines how income allocation and intra-household dynamics affect household resilience during the lean season. Its findings indicate that in contexts in which women and men's income are separate and destined for different purposes in the household, the fact that men's income is often earmarked for individual spending creates particular problems for households in the lean season. Women's empowerment within the household is essential to improving intra-household resource allocation for resilience. In many contexts, this translates into development programmes supporting women to increase their production and ability to control income independently of men. However, a context of individual gendered agricultural production, and gendered spending obligations, such as West Africa, calls for a slightly different approach. Enhancing agricultural productivity is critical, but in addition it is important to encourage co-operation between women and men in households to result in joint decision-making in the interests of the household.     

Pauvreté et convergence des consommations au Canada*

To study changes in household consumption patterns, five socio‐economic household groups were defined using a new multidimensional index (IMPR) composed of three dimensions: satisfaction of basic needs, marginalization relative to a reference population, and total disposable household income. When household incomes rose from 1969 to 1992, lower socio‐economic groups did not display the same consumption behaviours as upper‐income classes. The growth in household income during their life‐cycles did not allow them to catch up to higher‐income households. Middle‐class households experienced marked changes in consumption over their life‐cycle's, but in the 1990s, they experienced difficulties. Cinq groupes socioéconomiques de ménages sont définis à l'aide d'un nouvel indice multidimensionnel de pauvreté‐richesse (IMPR), construit à partir de trois dimensions: satisfaction des besoins de base, marginalisation par rapport à une population de référence et revenu total disponible du ménage. De 1969 à 1992, quand les revenus des ménages augmentent, les classes socioéconomiques qui occupent des positions inférieures n'ont pas les mêmes comporte‐ments de consommation que les classes supérieures. La croissance des revenus des ménages les moins riches au cours de leur cycle de vie ne leur permet pas de rattraper les positions des ménages plus riches. Dans les années 1990, la classe moyenne connaît une situation difficile.     

The ‘myth’ of the family farm: Defining the family farm and assessing its importance in the European community

Family farming is a central but inadequately defined concept in the European Community's agricultural policy. An investigation into the importance of family farming is reported, using data from the European Community's Farm Accountancy Data Network that covers some 59,000 farms in the 12 Member States. A definition is adopted, based on the share of the labour provided by the family, to group farms into family, intermediate or non-family types. Almost three-quarters of Community farms were classed as family farms in 1989, but they produced only just over half of the total agricultural output and 62% of the total income. The incidence of family farming varied between countries and was lowest in the United Kingdom, where less than half fell into the family group. In all countries family farms tended to be smaller and to have lower incomes per person than non-family farms. However, the non-family group did not consist solely of larger farms operated by family labour supplemented by hired labour; at least in some countries the group contained smaller farms operated on a part-time basis and where there is substitution by hired labour for family labour. These subgroups point to alternative ways of structural adjustment to achieve higher incomes from farming.     

Contrasts and Commonalities: Hispanic and Anglo Farming in Conejos County,Colorado

Abstract The San Luis Valley farming systems' project sought to identify improved technologies and better decision-making capabilities for modest-sized and limited-resource farms. Characteristics of limited-resource farms operated by Hispanic and Anglo families, which may or may not be associated with differential rates of social participation and/or institutional discrimination, were examined. To determine characteristics of client farms, data were collected and stratified on farm resources, farm operations, goal hierarchies, and operational management strategies. Hispanic and Anglo farmers differed significantly in several respects. Key among these differences were crop and livestock enterprise mixes and the importance of off-farm income to households. For many farming parameters, farm size, age of farmer, and full-time/part-time characteristics overshadowed ethnicity as a determinant of decision-making. However, an important subset of the farm population is composed of Hispanic farmers who operate below median farm acreage on a part-time basis and for whom few technological developments or assistance programs are specifically designed or delivered.     

Gender inequality in the one percent: A look under the hood of high incomes in Germany

Gender differences in economic outcomes are important topics in social science research. However, the study of gender differences among economic elites—“the top one percent”—has received surprisingly little attention, likely also due to a lack of empirical data. This paper investigates gender differences in individual and household income among the top one percent of individual monthly net incomes and top two percent of net household incomes using data from the German Microcensus from 2006 to 2016 covering more than 3.3 million individuals. I find that women account for only around 14% of the one percent in individual incomes. Additionally, regarding the household level, women's incomes are sufficient to achieve two percent status in fewer than 10% of all households. Both numbers did hardly change over the decade from 2006 to 2016. Furthermore, women's pathways to belonging to a high-income household are far more dependent on their partner's education and employment status than men's. Overall, the findings thus show dramatic gender differences among the German economic elite that do not narrow over time.     

“Tractorettes” or Partners? Farmers' Views on Women in Kansas Farming Households

In the United States, for various reasons, fewer farm families rely solely on their farming operations for their livelihoods. As the structure of agriculture changes and farm families adjust their livelihood strategies, do the discourses around gender relations in households also change? This article analyzes the portrayal of women's roles in farming households by drawing on interviews with Kansas field crop farmers, primarily regarding their land‐use decisions, but also inquiring about their farms and communities. The article addresses the following question: How do farmers' discourses compare to Brandth's (2002a) categorizations of three dominant discourses in the literature on gender in European family farming—the discourse of the family farm, the discourse of masculinization, and the discourse of detraditionalization and diversity? While Brandth finds the discourse of the family farm prevalent in the literature, overall, the discourse apparent from 30 farmer interviews is more characteristic of detraditionalization and diversity. Although men are primarily the principal operators in farming, overall, women were not portrayed simply as helpers. Rather, their roles are depicted as diverse and important to farm operations.     

Program participation in a targeted land distribution program and household outcomes: evidence from Vietnam

We estimate whether a land reform program led to higher incomes for ethnic minority households. In 2002, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, Program 132 directed the transfer of farm land to ethnic minority households that had less than one hectare of land. Using the 2002 Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey as a baseline, in 2008 we resurveyed over one-thousand households to provide a retrospective evaluation of the impact of their participation in Program 132. Contrary to official reports, our findings show that there was considerable deviation from the planned program parameters: many eligible households did not receive land, while ineligible households often did. We estimate that beneficiaries of the program in the province of Kon Tum experienced increases of household income largely in line with what one would expect from a small plot of poor farm land. Outside Kon Tum, where participation rates were substantially lower, the story is more mixed, and household incomes did not improve with program participation. Overall, our results underscore the limitations of simple transfers of land as a mechanism for improving the living standards of ethnic minorities. Our results also show the significant gap that can exist between program design and decentralized implementation. We discuss the potential implications for program evaluation.     

After Farming: Emotional Health Trajectories of Farm,Nonfarm, and Displaced Farm Couples*

Abstract This study links macro social change to emotional health through continuity and change in farming. Families were divided into four groups, depending on whether they were full‐time farmers, part‐time farmers, displaced farm families who had left farming during the 1980s, or nonfarm families. Using four waves of panel data, we estimated initial levels and subsequent changes in per capita family income, stressful life events, and depressive symptoms of wives and husbands. Between 1989 and 1992, full‐time farm families' incomes decreased dramatically, while displaced farm families started 1989 with the lowest average per capita family income but saw the largest average increases in subsequent years. Farm status and changes in income predicted changes in stressful life events; changes in stressful life events, in turn, predicted changes in wives' and husbands' reports of depressive symptoms.     

Economic Penalties and Rewards of Family Formation,Gender and Education in the Low‐income Sector in Germany1

This article examines the differential effects of changes in family formations on men's and women's economic vulnerability. The motivating question is whether investments in education provide sufficient resources to escape the risk of poverty in the low‐income sector or if changes in household characteristics are more important determinants of one's living standard. Changes in household characteristics are defined in terms of partners' entry into and exit from households and partners' different labour market profiles. The analysis focuses on households in the low‐income sector in Germany, a population that is at high risk of poverty in a social welfare state that is expected to mitigate the effects of changes in family formation independent of gender. Findings from panel regression analysis demonstrate that women, in contrast to men, benefit economically as much as or more from investing in traditional family formations than in their own labour market position. This is especially the case for women with lower levels of education.     

The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Central and Eastern Europe: Implications for the Agrifood Sector and Rural Development

During the 1990s transition period in Central and Eastern Europe, the retail sector was privatised and some domestic‐capital supermarket chains gradually emerged. Massive inflows of foreign direct investment followed and competitive domestic investments drove a rapid take‐off of large‐format modern retail sector development from a tiny ‘luxury’ niche of around 5% of food retail in the mid‐1990s to 40–50% by 2003 in ‘firstwave’ and 20–40% in ‘second‐wave’ countries. In ‘third‐wave’ countries like Russia, it is still only 10% but growing very fast. In most countries there is rapid multi‐nationalisation and consolidation of the supermarket sector, with profound changes in procurement systems affecting the conditions facing farmers, and creating important opportunities and challenges.     

Social capital and household income distributions in the United States: 1980, 1990

This paper asked if changes in social capital influence the level and disparity of household income in the United States. Social capital is defined in this paper as one's sympathy (antipathy) for others and one's idealized self. Changes in social capital are expected to produce the following economic consequences. First, increases in social capital are expected to alter the terms of trade and to increase the likelihood of trades between friends and family. Second, increases in social capital are expected to increase an economic agent's concerns for the external consequences of his or her choices, internalizing what otherwise would be considered externalities. Third, increases in social capital between firms are expected to increase the likelihood that they will act in their collective interest. Fourth, increases in social capital are expected to increase the opportunities for specialization and the likelihood of trade. Finally, increases in social capital are expected to raise the average level of income and reduce the disparity of income.This paper empirically tested the relationship between changes in social capital indicator variables and changes in the average and coefficient of variation (CVs) of household income. State CVs and averages of household income were calculated for all 50 states and for different races/ethnic groups using the U.S. Census data for 1980 and 1990. Social capital indicator variables selected to measure changes in social capital included measures of family integrity including the percentages of households headed by a single female with children; educational achievement variables including high school graduation rates; crime rate variables including litigation rates; and labor force participation rates. The social capital indicator variables appeared to be significantly correlated with each other. However, in 1980, the percentages of households headed by a single female with children was not significantly related to the birth rates of single teens. By 1990, however, a strong correlation was found between the percentages of households headed by a single female with children and the birth rate of single teens.Income inequality among U.S. households measured using CVs increased between 1980 and 1990 in all 50 states. The largest increase in CVs was among white households. The smallest increase in CVs was among Asian households. The states with the largest increase in the ratio of 1990 and 1980 CVs were Arizona, Wyoming, Maine, Vermont, and Texas. Half of the states reported decreases in real household income between 1980 and 1990. Those states with the largest percentage decrease in real income were Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Louisiana, and West Virginia. The largest percentage increase in real income was reported by Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.State CVs and averages of household income were regressed on four factors or subsets of social capital indicator variables. The four factors used to predict CVs and averages of household income were generally statistically significant. The findings of this report support the conclusion that changes in social capital have a significant effect on the disparity and level of household income.     

Farm Household Incomes: Perceptions and Statistics

Although concern with the incomes of the agricultural community is at the centre of agricultural policy in Europe, and a major reason why reform of the CAP has been opposed, reliable statistics on the incomes of farmers and their households are scarce. Policy has been built on assumptions about incomes in agriculture that have remained largely unsubstantiated by official statistics. Recently, information has been generated by Eurostat about the aggregate disposable income of the agricultural household sector in EU countries which, though falling short of being comprehensive, causes some of these assumptions to be seriously challenged. By providing policymakers with better information, and indicating where more detailed statistics are needed, the quality of policy decisions should be improved.     

Targeting disadvantage in agriculture

The effectiveness of the main policy instrument targeting support at farmers in disadvantaged areas of the UK from 1976 to 2000 (the Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance Scheme) is evaluated for Northern Ireland, using recursive linear programming models and input–output analysis. Capital, income and employment effects of the Scheme in its latter years are estimated and assessed against declared policy objectives. It is estimated that average farm cash incomes would have been between 17 and 31 per cent lower in the absence of HLCA payments, while farmer net worth would have fallen by approximately 1 per cent annually. In aggregate, some 1000 jobs were sustained by the Scheme and incomes and profits in the region were boosted by £9 million each year. The main economic effect arising from the introduction of a successor area-based subsidy, will be a redistribution of payments from farms with relatively high stocking rates (predominantly larger units) to those operating more extensively (mostly smaller, part-time farms).     

Global warming and navy beans: Decision making by farmers and food companies in the U.K.

Farmers are continually adjusting their business enterprises in response to the shifting economic, political and social pressures which affect each aspect of their production. These adjustments may include structural changes, agronomic (production) changes or moves into ‘diversification’ enterprises, and are manifest at different scales, from the farm unit to changes in a country's or region's agricultural structure. One factor influencing future changes in agriculture is likely to be climate change (‘global warming’) which will alter the physical environmental conditions of production. The consequences of this might include a change in the crop species cultivated in different areas. This paper examines the responses of farmers in part of southern Britain to the possibility of growing navy beans, a crop used for baked bean manufacture and obtained almost wholly from North America, as a response to a warmer climate. The paper seeks to explore the network of relations at the farm, national and international scales which will determine the likelihood of commercial adoption of the crop occurring in the U.K. Through discussion of the results of interviews with farmers, food processing companies and associated agencies it is concluded that there are significant structural barriers to the adoption of navy beans as a diversification option on U.K. farms as a result of international trade restraints and a measure of inertia and risk aversion within the processing companies.     

RISING TOP INCOMES AND INCREASED BORROWING IN THE REST OF THE DISTRIBUTION

One potential consequence of rising top‐income concentration is borrowing by less‐affluent households attempting to maintain relative living standards. This paper evaluates the “keeping up with the Joneses” phenomenon, examining the responsiveness of payment‐to‐income ratios for different debt types across the income distribution to changes in income among affluent households. The analysis provides evidence for the responsiveness of debt to rising top incomes. Middle‐ and upper‐middle‐income households take on more housing‐related debt and have higher payments in places with higher top‐income levels. Among lower‐income households non‐mortgage borrowing and debt payments decline, consistent with restrictions in the supply of credit. (JEL D63, D14)     

Pluriactivity in the Moshav:: family farming in Israel

In the past several years, pluriactivity has become quite widespread among moshav farming households, especially those located within Metropolitan Tel Aviv's rural fringe. Agricultural income has been on the decline and other sources of income have appeared. This paper has a threefold aim: To identify major patterns of income sources among Moshav's households; to explain the underlying causes for choosing pluriactivity as an income-producing strategy; and to explain the reasons for the specific choice of pluriactivity patterns adopted.An analysis of the activities of moshavim¹ located in the Sharon Region indicates that the further the moshav from the metropolitan area, the greater the role of agriculture in total family income. Within a pluriactivity strategy, the main additional sources of income are wage employment and small business activity, carried out either on or off the moshav. The main factors stimulating the increase in pluriactivity are the decline in agricultural income and the desire to take advantage of vocational training. This trend is supported by other factors, such as the availability of premises for alternative uses as well as the ease of operating a business from the home.The divergence in pluriactivity patterns may indicate that the frequency of mixing agriculture with other income sources may be a temporary option adopted by households for which agriculture has been a mainstay. Those households may shift away from agriculture in the short or mid-term. We would argue that at present, for the majority of those no longer devoted solely to agriculture, pluriactivity is also aimed at helping to sustain agricultural activity. In such cases, farmers utilise the resources acquired from non-agricultural employment for investment in agriculture, including the upgrading of equipment and other assets.     

Can Donor PIUs Support Country Systems?

The OECD's Paris Declaration (2005) discouraged donor project implementation units (PIUs) which are not integrated into government. But little is known about the behaviour and effects of PIUs integrated into government. Are they efficient? Do they support country systems? This article responds to these questions using research comparing two streams of implementation of schools investments in Malaysia's Eighth Plan 2001–2005, one via government alone and the other via a World Bank PIU integrated into government. It emphasises the conflicts which can exist within country systems, and how these affect the choices which a donor faces in seeking efficient implementation of a project while supporting country systems.