How Costly Is It for Poor Farmers to Lift Themselves Out of Subsistence?
Resource information
Date of publication
Junho 2012
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
oai:openknowledge.worldbank.org:10986/8733
Copyright details
CC BY 3.0 Unported
The main objective of this paper is to provide estimates of the cost of moving out of subsistence for Madagascar's farmers. The analysis is based on a simple asset-return model of occupational choice. Estimates suggest that the entry (sunk) cost associated with moving out of subsistence can be quite large - somewhere between 124 and 153 percent of a subsistence farmer's annual production. Our results make it possible to identify farm characteristics likely to generate large gains, if moved out of subsistence, yielding useful information for the targeting of trade-adjustment assistance programs.
