Rural labor markets, rural nonfarm enterprises and agrarian reform in the Philippines : a review of literature

The agricultural sector in the Philippinescontinues to play an importantrole in the economy despite its limited capacityto absorb the existing rural labor force. This has led to the creation of a strong demand for nonfarm employment in the rural labor market, making the rural nonfarm sector a vital component of the rural economy. The growing interest in rural nonfarm activities stemmed from recent findings on the significant role of rural nonfarm enterprises in employment andincome generation,and in thedevelopment process of developing countries. This paper attempts to bring together and review studies concerning farm and nonfarm linkages, inter-sectoral linkages, and the rural labor markets. The next section focuses on existing studies analyzing the relationship between farm and nonfarm activities, the nature, structure and composition of nonfarm activities, and the linkages of rural nonfarm activities with the other sectors of the economy. Most of these studies explain how the rural nonfarm sector is related to the rest of the economy and howit is likely to react to changes elsewhere in the system. A survey of existing literature on labor demand, supply, and the labor market is presented. Finally, on the basis of thesurvey, research gaps on the area havebeen identified.