Can Non-Agricultural Employment Reduce Rural Poverty? Evidence From Mexico
Author
Araujo,Caridad
Abstract
This paper explores the role of the local context on the effectiveness of policy interventions in reducing poverty through non-agricultural rural employment (NARE). NARE is negatively associated to poverty in Mexico. Manufacturing employment is more poverty-reducing than services in semi urban municipalities. In turn, services employment matters more in rural than in semi urban areas. Factors associated to pro-poor NARE are low income inequality, dynamic agriculture, and government expenditures. Policy interventions in education and roads are poverty-reducing through manufacturing employment in semi urban municipalities and through services employment in all municipalities