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  • Public Work - an International Outlook
    125-132
    Views:
    170

    Labour market policy includes active and passive labour market programmes, aiming to solve different problems. Active labour market programmes assist the unemployed to find jobs and thus return to the labour market. Passive labour market programmes assist the unemployed by providing various kinds of aid, easing social tensions. Public work can be considered to be an active labour market programme, assisting people who receive social care with income based on public beneficial work. Consequently, public work is justified by some on the basis that it is purported to have some kind of moral foundation, as well as because it supposedly shows results within a short time. Yet, the rationale behind using public work programmes to fight unemployment is contested. Detractors see them as being rather costly, questioning their success and arguing that their overall results are uncertain, especially in the long run. In short, there are in fact pros and cons to using public work, with opinions being rather divisive. This study summarises these pros and cons, analysing the relevant international and Hungarian literatures in the context of active labour market programmes.

    JEL Classification: I38

  • Occupational choice and agricultural labour efficiency in Nigeria: Impact of ICTs
    111-117
    Views:
    147

    Increased labour efficiency is imperative in the developing world and particularly in Nigerian Agriculture which should be in its leaping phase. The interaction between labour efficiency and ICTs is inevitable in the realisation of the nation’s agribusiness potentials. Following a vivid descriptive statistics on main occupations and access to ICTs among the Nigerian populace, this study assessed effects of ICTs on the probability that a working aged Nigerian chose agricultural occupation over non-agricultural occupations. In doing so, the study analysed the effects of access to ICTs on agricultural labour efficiency in Nigeria. Data used for the analysis were drawn from the Nigerian General Household Survey-Panel held in 2010-2011 period. Analytical framework for the study include: Logistic Regression and Multiple Regression Models. Results show that access to mobile phones, using the internet to obtain information, and using the internet to send or receive mails were significant factors of the probability that a Nigerian chose agriculture or its related activities as a main occupation. Again, access to personal computers, use of the internet for e-banking, e-learning and for reading e-newspapers had significant impact on agricultural labour efficiency in Nigeria. The study recommends that labour policies should find a place for the role of ICTs, particularly the internet.

    JEL. Code: Q12

  • Who benefits from emotional labour?
    Views:
    204

    Emotional labour is an essential requisite in most professions. It is present wherever performance of work involves interactions with colleagues and/or customers. Emotional labour produces multiple positive consequences for organizations, such as constant performance by employees, uniform image, and regular, satisfied customers. Of all effects of emotional labour on individuals,literature discusses the negative ones mostly. This study is to demonstrate that emotional labour may as well have positive effects on individuals.

  • The influence of employment modes on employee turnover and agri-business performance: a case for Hunyani farm in the Zvimba district, Zimbabwe
    17-27
    Views:
    285

    The labour intensive nature of Zimbabwean agriculture demands that farmers meet excessive labour requirements, at the same time keeping labour costs as low as possible to guarantee profits and achieve maximum business performance. This study, carried through a questionnaire survey, at the Hunyani Matura Farm, in the Zvimba district of Zimbabwe between from October 2017 to March 2018, investigated the effect of employment mode on turnover and agri-business performance. Data collected from the participants, was compared with the information from secondary source documents. From the results temporary workers performed better than permanent workers and they cited problems of low wages, poor working conditions, high work targets, inequality in work allocation, job insecurity and constant shuffling. Temporary workers had higher turnover and turnover intentions than permanent workers. Temporary employment mode had a positive
    effect on agri-business performance. This study recommends the use of permanent employment mode on key positions like forepersons, stores persons and supervisors, and temporary employment mode on general farm tasks, while seasonal contracts were seen good for skill demanding operations such as tobacco seedbed establishment, tobacco reaping and curing and grading. A ccareful selection of employment modes reduces inequalities and unhealthy attitudes at work and improves on farm business performance.

    JEL Classification: Q12

  • Organizational consequences of emotional labour in mangenent
    125-130
    Views:
    191

    Emotional labour, as a self-contained field of research, is only three decades old. This study aims to summarize key findings from investigations of the last ten years in an attempt to provide a reference for interpretation of organizational emotions and the organizational aspects of emotional labour. It makes no secret of its aim being to call the attention of anybody dealing with people as workforce that work no longer has only physical or mental aspects, but an emotional dimension as well. Most often this latter dimension lives an independent life. Normally, it is not regulated, tracked, appreciated or rewarded properly, which might send a message to employees that it is not really important. However, emotional labour is a concomitant of most professions and jobs. Where it is not given any conscious consideration by either the employer nor its employees, numerous opportunities of making it easier or improving it may be lost.

  • Relationship between the qualification and labour market situation of disabled workers in Hungary
    23-25
    Views:
    123

    My PhD research focuses on special rehabilitation firms (they are specialised to employ disabled people) and their employees. Two questionnaires for the above mentioned firms and their employees were created in order to gather information on their activities as well as to explore the relationship between the firms and their employees. Altogether 1030 employees and 109 employers filled in the questionnaires. The current study shows the results of this survey. It can be stated that this paper shows the risk of finding a workplace after a certain time period. According to the latest trends I analyse the labour market situation of people living with disabilities with survival analysis. The survival analysis is able to manage partial information, as well. After summarizing all claims of participants we can make an impression in this area and demonstrate the problems for the labour market generally. I use the Log-rank, Breslow and Tahane-Ware probe.

  • The labour market position of people with disabilities and with a reduced work capacity after the change of regime
    89-97
    Views:
    121

    The study aims at exploring, based on an overview of the professional literature, the economic, social and employment policy situation which characterised the period from the change of regime to 10 years thereafter and concerned people with disabilities and with a reduced work capacity, as well as, the institutions and instruments influencing the related labour market demand and supply. It discusses those initiatives too which aim at increasing the economic activities of the related disadvantaged group. The topicality of the study comes from the fact that in the past few years the government has put a number of stricter legislation into force to strengthen the labour market position of people with disabilities and with a reduced work capacity in Hungary. Notwithstanding, the affected group still has low economic activity. In its background there is partially the economic-social situation and approach which characterised the transition period, as well as, the weak efficiency of the rehabilitation system, which was forming that time.

  • Labour market attributes of disabled people in Hungary
    119-122
    Views:
    100

    Nowadays employment is an evergreen topic in Europe. The North Great Plain Region of Hungary is a typical rural area in Hungary, the unemployment rate is higher in this region as the national average, that’s why it is important, to give the possibility of job for the people living in rural areas. This paper focuses on the relationship between the disabled and the labour market in the North Great Plain Region of Hungary. On the basis of the 8/1983 Hungarian Law many kinds of supplies are provided by the State for people living with disabilities. It is very difficult to provide jobs for these people after their rehabilitation. Statistical figures show that the highest ratio of ‘people living with disabilities’ can be found in the North Great Plain Region of Hungary (30 per cent of the total number of ‘people living with disabilities’). The research focuses on special rehabilitation firms (they are specialised to employ disabled employers) and their employees. Two questionnaires for the above mentioned firms and their employees were created in order to gather information on their activities as well as relationship between the firms and its employees. Altogether 400 employees filled in the questionnaires. The current study shows the results of this survey. It can be stated that this paper shows the relationship between the employment and the types of enterprises, and disabled workers’ qualification level, the need for further education. According to the latest trends we analyse the attitude to the rehabilitation of people living with disabilities and how they will be able to work again not only in ‘rehabilitation firms’. After summarizing all claims of participants we can make an impression in this area and demonstrate the problems for the labour market generally.

  • Examining some fields within human resources management
    49-52
    Views:
    142

    Human resources management is one of the management functions, dealing with people as the essential resource of the organization. This function aims at the most efficient usage of employees in order to realize both organizational and individual goals. Nowadays high significance is attributed to human resources management, since the human factor is the resource that determines the success of an organization. The results of a company are in proportion with the knowledge and talent of the people on its payroll. Human talent and knowledge can be utilized to the greatest extent in case management is able to motivate employees to meet not only the necessary requirements but also to achieve the highest possible results. Human resources management consists of several fields of activities, among which the following are the most important: analysis, planning and assessment of the scope of activities, human resources planning, workforce supply, performance assessment, motivation, developing human resources, labour relations, labour safety, HEM information system. Our studies cover a few fields within human resources management. Our research has been carried out at organizations in Hajdú-Bihar County. The study is based on questionnaires, which have been processed by computers and evaluated using statistical methods.

  • New sources of employment to promote the wealth-generating capacity of rural communities
    15-21
    Views:
    125

    New Sources of Employment to Promote the Wealth-Generating Capacity of Rural Communities (acronym: RuralJobs) is a collaborative research project partly funded under the European Commission Research and Development 7th Framework Program. The Rural Jobs consortium consists of partners drawn from eight European Union (EU) countries (Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and UK). The project began on February 2008 and finished in October 2010. RuralJobs quantified labour market, demographic and economic trends, and the impact of employment creation measures and policies in seven, representative “reference areas” across the EU, and used the information to demonstrate how rural development measures can be better targeted and how rural development policies should evolve.We identified labour market, demographic and economic trends in rural areas across EU-27 and the potential for new sources of employment outside traditional primary and secondary sector activities, and examined the interaction between different types of rural area (peri-urban, remote, high environmental/amenity value etc.). We identified employment growth areas where rural development programmes can be targeted to increase their contribution to employment creation. Our strategic objectives were the following: review of employment policies and programmes, scenarios for new sources of employment according to rural typologies, recommendations for better targeting of strategies, dissemination and mainstreaming. The main outcome expected is that the results will allow a better targeting of rural development measures and future evolution of rural development policies in line with the Lisbon Strategy.

  • The MBA labour market: A note on the global perspectives for graduates in 2015
    91-93
    Views:
    125

    What are the labour market perspectives for MBA graduates in 2015? Each year the GMAC carries out a year-end poll to find out the hiring plans of the employers with respect to graduates in business studies. This short notes presents the most important results for MBA graduates.

  • Effect of Training on Small-Scale Rice Production in Northern Ghana
    13-20
    Views:
    138

    Training in modern farming methods enables farm households in developing countries to improve agricultural productivity. Notwithstanding the efforts of governmental and non-governmental organisations to provide farmers with agricultural training, productivity remains low. The existing literature provides little empirical evidence of the effect of training on agricultural productivity in Ghana. This study therefore seeks to bridge this gap by investigating small scale rice farmers’ participation in agricultural training programmes and its effect on productivity in northern Ghana. A treatment effect model was used to account for sample selection bias. The results indicated that participation in training increased with the number of extension visits, group membership, access to credit and the degree of specialisation in rice production. Furthermore, total output and labour productivity both increased with participation in training but the relationship with land productivity (yield) was insignificant. On average, participation in training was associated with 797kg increase in rice output, while labour productivity increased by 7.3kg/man-day. With the exception of farm capital, all the production inputs had a positively significant relationship with output suggesting sub-optimal use of capital in production. The study concludes that farmers’ training needs are not adequately being met while inadequate capital is constraining farm output. Increasing access to extension service and involving farmer-based organisations in the design and implementation of training programmes will enhance participation and farm performance.

    JEL Classification: C21, D24, Q12

  • On the conveyor belt of public employment programs between 2009 and 2013 in Hajdúböszörmény
    81-88
    Views:
    115

    Present study focuses on the national and European popularity of public employment programs within the Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP) between 2009 and 2013, and emphasizes the lack of their transitive effects by two national empirical researches. It is a crucial question at either the governmental level or the local level or even at the level of the people that after the participation whether the supported employees can find a job, whether the programs have transitive effects or the possibility of re-employment is greater. 50% one-time participation defined in the first hypothesis was examined in two empirical studies. In the first case this ratio was verified neither in input sampling (45,6%) nor in output sampling (40,83%). In case of the sampling in 2013 it was successful (78%). In Hajdúböszörmény revealing the situation of the labour market we concluded that practically people after the supported employment have minimal chance to find a job, there are still negative tendencies in the primary market, and local government tries to struggle with the price by utilizing public employment as a single tool. The two empirical sampling drew the attention that the lower the transitive effects of the examined programs are, the stronger the phenomenon of locking-in and rotating is.

  • Agricultural outsourcing: A comparison between the Netherlands and Japan
    29-33
    Views:
    336

    Outsourcing may well be a tool for increasing the efficiency of Japanese agriculture. However, outsourcing is not frequently used by Japanese farmers in their day-to-day management. This has resulted in a weakly developed market for agricultural contracting services. In order to take a closer look at the reasons for making use of outsourcing, a comparative study was carried out between the agricultural contracting sector in Japan and that in the Netherlands, where agricultural outsourcing is a regular practice. In the Netherlands, especially small, diversified farms that lack sufficient labour tend to outsource agricultural work; in Japan, the situation is far less clear. Cultural factors possibly play an important role.

  • THE PROFIT EFFICIENCY OF MORINGA OLEIFERA PRODUCTION IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA
    Views:
    64

    This study examined the profit efficiency of Moringa oleifera production by farmers in Osun State, Nigeria. Primary data were obtained from 150 respondents. Multistage sampling procedure was used for selecting respondents. The data were analyzed with the aid of descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and stochastic frontier production function. The findings revealed that male predominate moringa enterprise with about 55.3% male, most producers fall between the age bracket 41-50years with a mean age of 44.92 (± 13.168) years and the average farm size is 0.3 hectares whilst indicating that most producers had less than 0.1 hectares of land. Moringa production had a benefit cost ratio of ₦5.852, profit margin of ₦0.182, expense structure ratio of ₦0.107, net return on investment ₦4.857, rate of return of ₦5.482 and profitability ratio of ₦0.981. The average profit efficiency of moringa producers was 18.73% on the profit frontier.  Family labour, hired labour and transport cost were significant and had positive coefficient while the seed cost, pesticide cost, level of education and farm size are also significant but bears negative coefficient. The level of education and farm size are amongst the inefficiency variables considered. This study concludes that Moringa oleifera production is highly profitable but producers have not been able to maximize profit efficiency. It therefore recommends that producers improve on adding value to moringa products and extend their channels of distribution considering the cost incurred on transportation.

  • Analysis of production and competitiveness on small beekeeping farms in selected districts of Serbia
    Views:
    181

    The study researched the costs and returns on typical small beekeeping farms from five districts in Serbia. On the basis of the field research, data on the number of beehives,type of product, volume of production per beehive and values per measurement unit were collected.In order to demonstrate the competitiveness of various apicultural products, analysis of the available data was performed using analytical calculations. According to the analysis, the labour costs comprise about 49.65% to 64.15% of the variable costs on beekeeping farms in the Raška and Šumadija districts, respectively. Production is most economical on the bee farm in the district of Srem, where every dinar spent in production creates a value of 2.22 dinars, while the farm from the district of Raška is the least economical (1.32 din). Bee farms must reduce labour costs and re-direct their business orientation to other bee products, besides honey, such as pollen, which could be significantly more profitable.

     

  • Human resource aspect of agricultural economy – challenges of demographic change
    163-167
    Views:
    156

    Over the past decades, the agrarian policy has tried to contribute to the catching-up of the rural areas with varying dynamism and aid scheme. However, its result is significantly below expectations. Nowadays, the age composition of the population living in rural areas reveals an unfavourable picture; the rate of the elderly, deprived persons and people being inactive from the aspect of employment is high and it is also combined with the low educational levels. The young generations and intellectuals leave the rural areas and, consequently, the rate of the active population continues to grow narrow as well as the proportion of young and skilled employees decreases. As a consequence of changes in the past decades, the rate of agricultural employment has not led to an intensive change but a failing change in extensive direction which lays off jobs. Nowadays, this process also determines the Hungarian rural society. In the sector, the need for employment diminishes as a result of the development in technology and due to the expansion of services sector. The purpose of our study is to present and analyse the human resources of our country’s agriculture by skill level and age group and compare it with the needs of companies, by doing this we try to compare supply and demand. In details, based on secondary data source, we investigate the agricultural labour force and try to confront it with the advertisements of job search portals (three of our job search portals based on our predefined criteria), by which we achieve a current picture of the agricultural human resource circumstances.

    JEL Code: J43

  • Cost analysis of pig slaughtering: A Hungarian case study
    121-129
    Views:
    200

    The scale of Hungarian slaughterhouses is small in international comparison and the cost of slaughter and cutting a pig of average live weight is relatively high at 16.1-19.4 EUR on average. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cost of pig slaughter and cutting through the case study of a medium-scale plant in Hungary. Based on data from the enterprise, a calculation was performed in relation to the “output” quantity of pig slaughter and cutting, as well as its value and the cost and cost structure of processing. The capacity of the examined plant and its utilisation were analysed and cost reductions were estimated for various increases of output. In 2015, the direct cost of slaughter and cutting was 18.9 EUR per pig for the medium-scale plant which processed 100 thousand pigs. When the purchase cost of pigs is excluded, labour costs accounted for the highest share (30%) of costs, followed by services (29%) and energy costs (21%). For this reason, the level of wages and employer’s contributions has a rather high significance. Analysis showed that significant increases in Hungarian minimum wage and guaranteed living wage in 2017 resulted in an estimated 7% increase in the cost of slaughter and cutting compared to 2015, despite the decrease of contributions. The capacity utilisation of the plant was a low 28% when compared to a single 8-hour shift considered full capacity. The cost of slaughter and cutting was estimated to be reduced to 14.2-17.0 EUR per pig if the plant operated at full capacity. This may be considered a lower bound estimate of cost because there are numerous restricting factors on optimising capacity utilisation, such as: 1) number of live animals available for purchase and related logistics; 2) cooling capacity availability; 3) labour availability; 4) market position of the enterprise and potential for marketing additional pig meat products. Enterprises of this scale are recommended to consider producing more value-added products and, accordingly, investing in product development.

    JEL Classification: Q13, Q19

  • Technical efficiency analysis of maize production: evidence from Ghana
    73-79
    Views:
    470

    The study applies the single-stage modelling stochastic frontier approach to investigate the performance of maize farmers in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District of Ghana. It estimates the level of technical efficiency and its determinants for 306 maize farmers. Findings indicated that land, labour and fertilizer influenced output positively whilst agrochemicals and seeds affected output negatively. A wide variation in output was also found among producers of maize. The study further revealed that age, sex and off-farm work activities were significant determinants of technical inefficiencies in production. Results from the maximum likelihood estimate of the frontier model showed that averagely, farmers were 67% technically efficient, implying that 33% of maize yield was not realized. The return to scale which measures the productivity level of farmers was 1.22, suggesting that the farmers are operating at an increasing returns to scale.

  • Competitiveness of Polish regional Agro-clusters
    35-40
    Views:
    179

    The present paper concerns the analysis and evaluation of the performance of regional agro-clusters in Poland and also the examination of the significant basic factors which have influence on it. The objective of the paper is both to rank the 16 Polish regions according to their competitive position in the agrocomplex and to present their economic and social position, show differences and regional contrasts. Also, we compare the outcomes with the overall Polish regional competitive index, which was created in accordance with the Huggins Institute approach.

  • Consumption habits of “Free range chicken” in Hungary
    69-73
    Views:
    178

    Poultry is highly ranked in theWorld meat production and consumption (it accounted for 32% in 2007), and, in the past 20 years it was growing with an annual rate of 3–6%, higher than in case of any other meat-types. This tendency is also valid for Hungary: poultry has the largest share (29.8 kg/person/year, 47%) in the domestic meat consumption since 2000, which is among the EU top (KSH, 2007). As the result of the animal health and nutrition scandals, the EU animal welfare and quality requirements and the advancements in health consciousness the Master-Good group launched the production, processing and trade of free-range poultry under the brand “Free-range chicken”. The new products had good consumer responses, because at present 1.5% of the processed chicken in Hungary (25 tons/week) is under this brand. As it regards the future of this product, we can expect the decrease of the current 1.5 times higher production price over broiler chicken, due to the increasing energy, labour and other cost items, thus the increase of the domestic consumption by 25–30% per annum can be foreseen. Besides the growth in domestic demand, increasing foreign consumer demand can also be expected because of the space requirement of the production. Summarising the above mentioned: „Free range chicken” can be one of the most successful products of the Hungarian poultry industry. In order to realise the prognosis mentioned above, it is inevitable to learn the consumer attitudes towards the brand. A primary market research programme supported by the Master Good group has been launched to study the main features of the domestic chicken meat consumption – including the „Free-range chicken” as highlighted brand. The primary aim of the research was the complete assessment and evaluation of the Hungarian chicken consumption habits and the identification of the possible take-off points. The research undertaken resulted basic information concerning the internal structure of the Hungarian poultry consumption (including that of the „Free-range chicken”), the potential consumer groups and their requirements, provided information on the consumers’knowledge of the products and identified the elements of the consumers’ judgements. This will serve as basis for a marketing communication programme to increase the domestic „Free-range chicken” consumption.

  • Effect of Quality Assurance Deficit on Market Competitiveness for Export Commodities and Household Income in Nigeria
    103-108
    Views:
    99

    The Nigerian’s agricultural sub-sector contributes about 37 percent of her Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about 65 per cent of the adult labour force. It is thus the major source of food and fibre for the nation. However, there are increasing concerns about the quality and level of safety of many of the agricultural export commodities, particularly in the European markets due to the composition of high level of unauthorized pesticides. This is a major challenge to the level of market competitiveness for these commodities in the international markets. This study therefore examined the effect of quality assurance deficit on market competitiveness and household income levels. Trends in Nigeria’s agricultural export trade between 1980 and 2014 were examined and emphasis was placed on cowpea, dried maize, melon seeds and palm oil. Descriptive and qualitative statistical methods were used to analyze the data. Quantitative statistics included the use of econometric models. Results indicated that there was an increase in the general price level of the commodities at the international market over time. The aggregate market demand for each of them dropped sharply in the last one decade even when the market price per unit increased steadily. This negatively affected the households’ average income level as returns on sales of export commodities declined. Huge quantities of the commodities were then forced to be sold at the local markets at cheaper prices. This development negatively affects the consumptions patterns of the exporters as they now have reduced disposable income. Appropriate agencies of government need to be awake to their responsibilities of assessing and certifying the quality of the Nigerian agricultural commodities before exporting them abroad. This will help to further boost the level of consumer confidence in these export commodities especially at the international markets.

    JEL Classification: Q13

  • Challenges to sustainable rural development in Russia: social issues and regional divergences
    45-51
    Views:
    198

    Paper aims at investigation of contemporary approaches to sustainable rural development in Russia. It includes the overview of current experiences in rural development, analysis of major economic and social indicators of rural areas in comparison with urban ones. Analysis included the set of indicators such as number of rural people, number of rural settlements, rates of births and mortalities, natural and migration increases and declines of population, rates of employment and unemployment, average monthly nominal per capita wages, and level of the subsistence minimum. Indicators have been measured separately for rural and urban areas; regions have been grouped in relation to the particular indicator. The research is concluded by discovery of growth points for rural development and a set of recommendations on perspective measures of state and local policies in rural areas, directed on increase of living standards of rural population and retention of labour resources in their traditional rural areas of inhabitation.

    JEL: Q18, P25

  • Trends in agriculture and food production
    99-110
    Views:
    105

    Agricultural reform resulted a shift from collective farming to small-scale production in China. This reform also has resulted a strong increase in gross agricultural output, which coincides with a slower increase in labour productivity. At the beginning of the reforms, agriculture accounted for 70 percent of total employment in China and still employs more than 50%. As a result of these reforms, China has undergone impressive economic growth also in the agriculture; the country has become one of the world’s top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. The government has also stepped up investments in rural areas to meet the market demand for agricultural products. Results are very competitive compared to Central and Eastern European countries, where agriculture accounted for only 15 percent of total employment, but agricultural reform resulted a strong decline in gross agricultural output, which coincides with a similarly strong decline in employment. When approaching the issue of sustainable agriculture, we have to take into consideration, which China and India feed the largest populations in the world and both countries have had its own agricultural successes in the past 50 years. China has used land far more efficiently than many developed countries. With nine percent of the world’s arable land, China is responsible for the greatest share of agricultural production worldwide. Volume of produced pork, eggs, wheat, cotton, tobacco, and rice has increased and China exports an increasing amount of product each year. China has opened his borders, but do not expose food consumers to price shocks and producers to risks and disincentives. In this paper, the land-tenure system and the trends of agricultural developments are analysed in China and selected countries of EU.

  • Diversification strategies and their impact on farm performance
    57-61
    Views:
    127

    The objective of this study is to identify factors determining the economic performance of agricultural holdings in Italy, with specific attention to the impact of the adoption of on-farm diversification strategies, namely income diversification and product differentiation. The adoption of these kinds of strategies has been increasingly recognised as a viable business option in agriculture as they allow better allocation of farm resources and an increase in the quota of value added retained on farms and therefore not passed on to other agents operating at the end of the food supply chain. By using a panel of professional Italian farms over the time period of 2003-2009, we estimate random effect, ordinary least square and quantile regression models to estimate the impact of income diversification and product differentiation strategies on the levels of farm income per unit of labour income. Our findings show that scale economies are important positive determinants of farm economic performance. On the contrary, when the family play an important role in the farm business, economic performance is worse. Finally, we do not find evidence of a statistically significant impact of the adoption of income diversification and product differentiation strategies. This latter result may be interpreted as a signal that farms use these strategies as risk management tools rather than as income increasing ones.

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