Rainfall variability, occupational choice, and welfare in rural Bangladesh

Sushenjit Bandyopadhyay and Emmanuel Skoufias

Review of Economics of the Household, 2015, vol. 13, issue 3, 589-634

Abstract: The determinants of occupational focus versus diversification between household members in rural Bangladesh are investigated as an autonomous and proactive adaptation strategy against ex ante local rainfall variability risks. Nationally representative household level survey data are combined with historical climate variability information at the Upazila level. Flood prone Upazilas are distinguished from non-flood prone Upazilas, since the latter may be susceptible to higher risks from local rainfall variability. Adult members of the same household are found to be less likely than the household head to be self-employed in agriculture in areas with high local rainfall variability. Moreover, it is shown that occupational diversification comes at a cost in terms of lower household-level welfare (consumption). The effects of three policy actions, such as access to credits, safety net, and markets are considered. Access to market appears to be more effective in reducing the likelihood of costly within household occupational diversification as an ex ante climate risk reducing strategy as compared to access to credit and safety nets. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Keywords: Climate variability; Rural occupation; Welfare; Bangladesh; Q54; J43; O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Working Paper: Rainfall variability, occupational choice, and welfare in rural Bangladesh (2012)
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DOI: 10.1007/s11150-013-9203-z

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