The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment
Sri Lanka’s economy underwent steady structural transformation over the last two decades. During this time, economic activities increasingly shifted toward industry and services. Poverty fell significantly during this period, mainly led by nonfarm...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/210021634313271639/The-Rural-Nonfarm-Sector-and-Livelihood-Strategies-in-Sri-Lanka-Background-Report-to-Sri-Lanka-Poverty-Assessment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36513 |
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okr-10986-365132021-11-10T05:11:04Z The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment RURAL LIVELIHOODS NONFARM EARNINGS DIVERSIFICATION RURAL LABOR MARKET HOUSEHOLD INCOME RURAL NONFARM EMPLOYMENT Sri Lanka’s economy underwent steady structural transformation over the last two decades. During this time, economic activities increasingly shifted toward industry and services. Poverty fell significantly during this period, mainly led by nonfarm income growth. The nature of rural nonfarm activities is quite heterogeneous and nonfarm activities can entail low-return activities. Understanding the nature of the rural nonfarm economy is a first step towards assessing its potential to facilitate economic transformation and where policy interventions could be useful. The main findings are two-fold. First, there has been a clear shift from farm to nonfarm activities over the last decade, and livelihoods sources vary significantly across the income distribution. For example, poor households are much more likely to be engaged in farm activities or wage employment in industries, whereas rich households have a higher likelihood of working in services. While both farm and nonfarm activities are vital to support rural livelihoods, it is the nonfarm sector that engages the majority of rural workers. Second, better education is strongly associated with higher participation and payoff from nonfarm activities. Interestingly, education does not seem to influence the choice between engaging in farm and unskilled nonfarm employment, highlighting a possible skills barrier to moving to better-paying nonfarm jobs. 2021-11-09T18:38:19Z 2021-11-09T18:38:19Z 2021-10-01 Report http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/210021634313271639/The-Rural-Nonfarm-Sector-and-Livelihood-Strategies-in-Sri-Lanka-Background-Report-to-Sri-Lanka-Poverty-Assessment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36513 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Economic & Sector Work Economic & Sector Work :: Poverty Assessment South Asia Sri Lanka |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
RURAL LIVELIHOODS NONFARM EARNINGS DIVERSIFICATION RURAL LABOR MARKET HOUSEHOLD INCOME RURAL NONFARM EMPLOYMENT |
| spellingShingle |
RURAL LIVELIHOODS NONFARM EARNINGS DIVERSIFICATION RURAL LABOR MARKET HOUSEHOLD INCOME RURAL NONFARM EMPLOYMENT The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment |
| geographic_facet |
South Asia Sri Lanka |
| description |
Sri Lanka’s economy underwent steady
structural transformation over the last two decades. During
this time, economic activities increasingly shifted toward
industry and services. Poverty fell significantly during
this period, mainly led by nonfarm income growth. The nature
of rural nonfarm activities is quite heterogeneous and
nonfarm activities can entail low-return activities.
Understanding the nature of the rural nonfarm economy is a
first step towards assessing its potential to facilitate
economic transformation and where policy interventions could
be useful. The main findings are two-fold. First, there has
been a clear shift from farm to nonfarm activities over the
last decade, and livelihoods sources vary significantly
across the income distribution. For example, poor households
are much more likely to be engaged in farm activities or
wage employment in industries, whereas rich households have
a higher likelihood of working in services. While both farm
and nonfarm activities are vital to support rural
livelihoods, it is the nonfarm sector that engages the
majority of rural workers. Second, better education is
strongly associated with higher participation and payoff
from nonfarm activities. Interestingly, education does not
seem to influence the choice between engaging in farm and
unskilled nonfarm employment, highlighting a possible skills
barrier to moving to better-paying nonfarm jobs. |
| format |
Report |
| title |
The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment |
| title_short |
The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment |
| title_full |
The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment |
| title_fullStr |
The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Rural Nonfarm Sector and Livelihood Strategies in Sri Lanka : Background Report to Sri Lanka Poverty Assessment |
| title_sort |
rural nonfarm sector and livelihood strategies in sri lanka : background report to sri lanka poverty assessment |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/210021634313271639/The-Rural-Nonfarm-Sector-and-Livelihood-Strategies-in-Sri-Lanka-Background-Report-to-Sri-Lanka-Poverty-Assessment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36513 |
| _version_ |
1764485389505003520 |