Full Citation

Title: Seasonal Liquidity, Rural Labor Markets, and Agricultural Production

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2020

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.1257/aer.20180607

NSFID:

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PMID:

Abstract: Rural economies in many developing countries are characterized by a lean season in the months preceding harvest, when farmers have depleted their cash and grain savings from the previous year. To identify the impacts of liquidity during the lean season, we offered subsidized loans in randomly selected villages in rural Zambia. Ninety-eight percent of households took up the loan. Loan eligibility led to increases in on-farm labor and agricultural output, driving up wages in local labor markets. Larger effects for poorer households suggest that liquidity constraints contribute to inequality in rural economies.

Url: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20180607

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Fink, Günther; Jack, B Kelsey; Masiye, Felix

Periodical (Full): American Economic Review

Issue: 11

Volume: 110

Pages: 3351-92

Data Collections: IPUMS Global Health - DHS

Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization, Natural Resource Management, Poverty and Welfare

Countries: Zambia