Do Manh Hung, Nguyen Trung Thanh, Halkos George, Grote Ulrike
Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Leibniz University Hannover, Königsworther Platz 1, 30167 Hannover, Germany.
Department of Economics, University of Thessaly, 38333 Volos, Greece.
Environ Dev Sustain. 2022 May 26:1-38. doi: 10.1007/s10668-022-02391-7.
Natural resources are important in sustaining the livelihoods of rural households and the environment. However, over-exploitation is causing an alarming depletion of natural resources in many developing countries. At the same time, rapid economic growth has created non-farm employment opportunities for local people. In this context, examining the interrelationship between non-farm employment and natural resource extraction provides useful information for reducing resource extraction and improving rural households' welfare. In this study, we use a dataset of 1780 identical households from three survey waves undertaken in 2010, 2013, and 2016 in Vietnam to (i) identify the determinants of rural households' participation in non-farm activities, (ii) examine the interrelationship between non-farm employment and natural resource extraction, and (iii) investigate the impact of non-farm employment on rural households' welfare. The findings from pooled sample estimations reveal that (i) cable internet at home and rural road quality positively affect households' decisions to participate in non-farm employment; (ii) non-farm income and income from natural resource extraction have a negative association; and (iii) non-farm income significantly contributes to poverty reduction in both relative and absolute terms. Our findings suggest that improved provision of non-farm opportunities and increased investment in infrastructure and telecommunication are needed to improve rural households' welfare and consequently reduce their natural resource exploitation.
自然资源对于维持农村家庭生计和环境至关重要。然而，过度开发正导致许多发展中国家的自然资源出现惊人的枯竭。与此同时，快速的经济增长为当地居民创造了非农业就业机会。在此背景下，研究非农业就业与自然资源开采之间的相互关系，可为减少资源开采和改善农村家庭福利提供有用信息。在本研究中，我们使用了来自越南2010年、2013年和2016年进行的三轮调查中的1780户相同家庭的数据集，以（i）确定农村家庭参与非农业活动的决定因素，（ii）研究非农业就业与自然资源开采之间的相互关系，以及（iii）调查非农业就业对农村家庭福利的影响。汇总样本估计的结果显示，（i）家中的有线互联网和农村道路质量对家庭参与非农业就业的决定有积极影响；（ii）非农业收入与自然资源开采收入呈负相关；（iii）非农业收入在相对和绝对意义上都对减贫有显著贡献。我们的研究结果表明，需要改善非农业机会的提供，并增加对基础设施和电信的投资，以改善农村家庭的福利，从而减少他们对自然资源的开采。
