Rural Wage Employment: Is there a Premium for Agriculture?

‘Rural Wage Employment: Is there a Premium for Agriculture?’ investigates the determinants of rural and non-rural wages using the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) collected by the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). The paper estimates the wage equation for rural and non-rural workers controlling for structural, socioeconomic, and political factors. Results show that employment in agriculture reduces wages for both rural and non-rural workers. The work in Israel (premium) is shown to raise average wages by 60-70 percent for non-rural workers and 40-50 percent for rural workers. Despite this finding, the paper recommends reducing dependence on employment in Israel as a long-term solution to unemployment and to improve higher education for both rural and non-rural workers.
 
For more information, refer to www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=69875.