Influence of the Farmer’s Livelihood Assets on Livelihood Strategies in the Western Mountainous Area, China

Zhifei Liu, Qianru Chen and Hualin Xie
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Zhifei Liu: College of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Qianru Chen: Institute of Ecological Civilization, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330045, China
Hualin Xie: Institute of Ecological Civilization, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330045, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: The livelihood strategies of farm households depend on the conditions of their assets, and farm households cope with risks and shocks through portfolios consisting of different types of assets. Thus, discussing the relationship between the livelihood assets and the livelihood strategies of farm households helps in understanding their livelihood conditions and in formulating reasonable poverty reduction policies. Taking Zunyi City, which is located in a western, mountainous area of China, as the study region and using the framework of sustainability analysis, this study first tries to establish the mechanism of the influence of farm household livelihood assets on livelihood strategies, then evaluates different farm household livelihood assets by establishing an evaluation index system for them, and finally conducts an empirical analysis on the influence of farm household livelihood assets on livelihood strategies using a multinomial logit model. The research results indicate the following: (1) natural assets and material assets have a significant negative influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategies, that is, the more natural assets and material assets that farm households own, the more likely they are to choose livelihood strategies involving engaging in agricultural production; (2) Manpower assets and financial assets have a significant positive influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategy, namely, the more manpower assets and financial assets that farm households own, the more likely they are to choose livelihood strategies involving engaging in non-agricultural production; (3) Social assets have no significant influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategy.

Keywords: farm households; livelihood assets; livelihood strategies; land management; multinomial logit model; western mountainous area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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