Abstract
Farm households diversify their income sources by working off the farm. This is a risk management strategy that is used by farm households in both developed and developing countries. Income diversification via off-farm work is associated with higher incomes and food consumption. However, little is known about the association between off-farm work and farm household food expenditures. In an effort to bridge this gap, this study attempts to assess the impact of off-farm work decisions by the operator and/or the spouse on the food expenditures of the farm household. Using a nationwide farm household survey in the United States and new econometric method, we find that the decisions of the operator and/or the spouse to work off the farm are significantly interrelated (29%). However, these two decisions affect food expenditures in different ways. The operator's off-farm work decision is positively related to food expenditures, while the spouse's decision is negatively associated with expenditures on food by the farm household.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 657-664 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Food Policy |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Farm household
- Food expenditures
- Government farm policy
- Income diversification
- Off-farm income
- Off-farm work
- Tobit
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- Development
- Sociology and Political Science
- Economics and Econometrics
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law