The Effect of Off-farm Work on the Intensity of Agricultural Production

Euan Phimister and D. Roberts ()

Environmental & Resource Economics, 2006, vol. 34, issue 4, 493-515

Abstract: Changes in agricultural production methods have been associated with environmental pressure and a loss of natural habitats. This paper explores the extent to which farmer participation in off-farm work (an increasing phenomenon in most developed countries) changes the intensity of agricultural input use focusing, in particular, on fertilizer and crop protection product use. A sample selection model that accounts for both unobserved heterogeneity between farms and the potential simultaneity between farm operations and hours worked off-farm is estimated for 2,419 farms in England and Wales. The econometric evidence indicates that the input intensity of products which have well-established links to environmental damage can increase as well as decrease. The results suggest that that fertilizer intensity may decline as off-farm labor increases while the use of crop protection per hectare increases as off-farm work increases. Copyright Springer 2006

Keywords: crop protection; farm household model; fertilizer; input intensity; multifunctionality; off-farm work; panel; Q53; Q12; Q24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10640-006-0012-1

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