Determinants of Rural Non-farm Employment in Punjab: A Logistic Analysis

摘要

The present study evaluates the determinants of rural non-farm employment in the state of Punjab by utilizing secondary data sources pertaining to the period between 1983 to 2005. A multinomial logit model has been utilized to assess the determinantsof rural non-farm employment in the state of Punjab for the year 2011. The analysis of the rural non-farm employment in Punjab showed that the share of male non-farm workers has registered an increase of 23 percentage points during 1983 to 2004-05, whereas for females, rural non-farm workforce has registered an increase of only 3.1 percentage points during the same period. In addition, the analysis showed that in pre-reform period in rural and urban areas of Punjab, work participation was shifting fromprimary to tertiary sector. Secondary sector work participation was also increasing with little change. During post-reform years, the work participation in Punjab has been moving from primary and tertiary sectors to secondary sector at both the levels. Workers are shifting from agriculture to other sectors but the shift has been very sluggish. Among the major determinants of rural non-farm sector, the study noted significant positive impact of level of higher education, age, urbanization and length of PWD pucca road on the probability of work participation in the rural areas of Punjab. In order to encourage foreign investment in the state, special incentives are need to be given to the foreign players. To make Punjab agriculture more conducive to the current competitive environment, it is suggested that government's investment in skill and technology as well as technical and general skills should be encouraged.