What may determine off-farm income? A review

Abstract

Pastusiak R., Jasiniak M., Soliwoda M., Stawska J. (2017): What may determine off -farm income? A review. Agric. Econ. -Czech, 63: 380-391. Abstract:Farming is treated as one of the riskiest businesses. Political decisions, especially these related to the agricultural sector, may be treated as of a great importance. As a consequence, farm owners seek to diversify their sources of income and run other strategies aiming to stabilize their earnings i.e. by off -farm activities. Th e paper selected key groups of the determinants of the off -farm income with the aim to evaluate the current state and to propose further steps of the detailed analysis. Th e authors identifi ed the mechanisms how the particular instruments infl uence farmers' decisions on generating the off -farm income. It may be concluded that the signifi cance of direct payments is still very high. Subsidies generally discourage farmers from the non-agriculture employment. Th e infl uence of socio-demographic characteristics is signifi cant, however, the strength of this impact is determined by the additional factors like the situation in the labour market. In case of environmental determinants, it should be noted that there is a limited group of factors that may be out of control by the farm operators. Th e value added of the article is an attempt to identify the mechanisms how the particular instruments may infl uence farmers' decisions on generating the off -farm income. Th e article fi nishes with the authors' recommendations for further empirical studies.

New Approach to determining the economic potential of rural area on the example of the South Bohemian region of The Czech Republic

“…As a result of the downturn of the traditional handicrafts in the country, the predominant incomes from non-agricultural sources are important. The share of agricultural income continues to decline, right now at a slower pace (Pastusiak 2017;Barczyk et al 2019). This process is exacerbated by the outflow of young people from the rural areas (Bosworth, Turner 2018).…”

Exploring within- and between-effects of the factors influencing off-farm work decisions in Switzerland

“…The decision to engage in off-farm employment is motivated and influenced by various factors, as demonstrated by extensive theoretical and empirical studies in the field of agricultural economics [for a review see e.g. Pastusiak et al (2017)]. Off-farm work provides additional income and serves as a means of stabilising the farm households' financial situations by diversifying their income sources and reducing reliance on agriculture (Weersink et al 1998).…”