This article introduces the articles in "Agricultural Economics", vol. 40 no. 2 (March 2009). First, we introduce their objectives in a brief review of existing literature on developing country trends in rural income diversification, in particular rural nonfarm employment (RNFE) and its impact...

This article introduces the articles in Agricultural Economics, vol. 40 no. 2 (March 2009). First, we introduce their objectives in a brief review of existing literature on developing country trends in rural income diversification, in particular rural nonfarm employment (RNFE) and its impact on...

Cross country comparisons of rural income generating activities are analyzed to identify ways to design more effective and better targeted rural development policies. The full range of rural income generating activities carried out by rural households are examined, including: 1) the relative...

This paper assesses the current rural development practice against the main trends in recent rural development thinking, based on evidence from four country case studies. While much progress has been made in understanding the need to look beyond only agriculture for the promotion of productive...

This paper assesses the current rural development practice against the main trends in recent rural development thinking, based on evidence from four country case studies. While much progress has been made in understanding the need to look beyond only agriculture for the promotion of productive...

This paper examines the links between the assets and the economic activities of rural households in developing countries to provide insight into how the promotion of certain key assets — particularly education, land, and infrastructure — influences the economic choices of these households....

This paper uses a newly constructed cross-country database composed of comparable income aggregates to examine the full range of income generating activities carried out by rural households. The analysis paints a clear picture of multiple activities across rural space in countries on all four...

The traditional vision of rural economies as purely agricultural is clearly obsolete. Farm households across the developing world earn an increasing share of their income from nonfarm sources (see Table 4.1). And the specialized nonfarm households that emerge often diversify into multiple...