The rationale of part-time farming: empirical evidence from Norway
Abstract
Purpose
Outside farming, pluriactivity is generally considered as undesirable, whereas agricultural economists tend to recommend part-time farming. This contradiction is to be solved. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Linking tax-payer and statistical farm-level data from Norway, the authors tested how profitable part-time farming is for Norwegian farm households.
Findings
The analysis showed that concentrating on either working on-farm or off-farm generates a higher household income than combining the two.
Practical implications
Part-time farming may be a lifestyle decision, but apparently is not economically optimal for most farms.
Originality/value
The contribution solves an apparent contradiction between the discourses inside and outside agriculture.
Keywords
Citation
Mittenzwei, K. and Mann, S. (2017), "The rationale of part-time farming: empirical evidence from Norway", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-10-2014-0207
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited