TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-farm Income Diversification in Rural Ghana
T2 - Patterns and Determinants
AU - Senadza, Bernardin
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - Evidence abounds in the rural livelihoods literature that rural households do not only receive a significant proportion of their incomes from non-farm sources, but also it is a significant source of employment for rural folks. This paper examines the pattern and determinants of non-farm income diversification in rural Ghana. Results show that off-farm income constituted 43 percent of rural household income in 2005/6. Female-headed households tend to have larger off-farm income shares compared to male-headed households. Non-farm income shares followed the same gender pattern albeit less pronounced. Unlike in Latin America and Asia, in rural Ghana, non-farm self-employment income is more important than non-farm wage-employment income. Regression results show that the gender composition of households, age, education, and access to credit, electricity and markets are important determinants of multiple non-farm activities and non-farm income. The findings call for strategies that can help rural households maximize the benefits from income diversification.
AB - Evidence abounds in the rural livelihoods literature that rural households do not only receive a significant proportion of their incomes from non-farm sources, but also it is a significant source of employment for rural folks. This paper examines the pattern and determinants of non-farm income diversification in rural Ghana. Results show that off-farm income constituted 43 percent of rural household income in 2005/6. Female-headed households tend to have larger off-farm income shares compared to male-headed households. Non-farm income shares followed the same gender pattern albeit less pronounced. Unlike in Latin America and Asia, in rural Ghana, non-farm self-employment income is more important than non-farm wage-employment income. Regression results show that the gender composition of households, age, education, and access to credit, electricity and markets are important determinants of multiple non-farm activities and non-farm income. The findings call for strategies that can help rural households maximize the benefits from income diversification.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84866758632&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-8268.2012.00322.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-8268.2012.00322.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84866758632
SN - 1017-6772
VL - 24
SP - 233
EP - 244
JO - African Development Review
JF - African Development Review
IS - 3
ER -