Impact of Small-to-Medium Size Forest Enterprises on Rural Livelihood: Evidence from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Muhammad Zada, Syed Jamal Shah, Cao Yukun, Tariq Rauf, Naveed Khan and Syed Asad Ali Shah
Additional contact information
Muhammad Zada: College of Economics & Management, North East Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Syed Jamal Shah: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Cao Yukun: College of Economics & Management, North East Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Tariq Rauf: College of Economics & Management, North East Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Naveed Khan: College of Economics & Management, North East Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Syed Asad Ali Shah: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: Small-to-medium-sized forest enterprises (SMFEs) offer numerous benefits to rural communities and society as a whole. Less attention has been paid to the sustainability of SMFEs in terms of improving the livelihood of rural communities. This study aims to assess the impact of SMFEs in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan, and evaluate their potential role in reducing poverty and promoting rural livelihoods. Primary data were collected from 350 household heads and analyzed using econometric methodologies: The ordinary least squares (OLS) and ordered logit model. Household income, a wealth index, and five capitals of sustainable livelihood have been considered to gauge the impact of SMFEs. The results of the study reveal that there is a strong positive association between SMFEs and improvement in a rural community’s livelihood. The results further showed that households engaged in SMFE-related activities earn 3% more income and possess about 24% more assets. These findings are robust for various dimensions of sustainable livelihood and show positive effects of SMFEs on livelihood assets. This study continues the discussion on several practical implications along with recommendations for future research.

Keywords: firm size; small-to-medium-sized forest enterprises; sustainable livelihood framework; rural livelihood; forest income; Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2989/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2989/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2989-:d:234444

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().