Income diversity in rural Lithuania: benefits, barriers, and incentives

Economic hardship, agricultural policy reform and price developments have adversely affected incomes from agricultural production in Lithuania, and many farm households have accessed additional sources of income in the rural economy. In an analysis of recently collected survey data we find that non-farm wage employment particularly benefits poorer household, whereas non-agricultural enterprises are more common among higher-income farm households. Such enterprises diminish transaction problems typical for transition economies, allow households to capture more value added than in agricultural production, and create jobs in the local economy. Non-agricultural enterprises are more likely to be found with larger households and in more remote areas. Non-agricultural employment are more important income components for households that have more dependant members, are located in remoter areas, and have less access to economic institutions. We discuss the implications of these findings for the role of rural income diversity in economic regeneration

Poverty and the rural non-farm economy in Armenia, Georgia and Romania: a synthesis of findings (NRI report no. 2773)

The focus of this paper is on rural non-farm livelihoods in economies in transition. It looks at key factors affecting the ability and motivation of rural dwellers to become involved in the non-farm economy. The intended outputs of this study are: (i) to improve understanding of the dynamics of the RNFE in providing employment and income diversification opportunities in Armenia, Georgia and Romania; and (ii) to promote mechanisms for integrating research results into relevant policy processes

Innocent Frauds Meet Goodhart’s Law in Monetary Policy

This paper discusses recent UK monetary policies as instances of Galbraith’s ‘innocent frauds’, including the idea that money is a thing rather than a relationship, the fallacy of composition that what is possible for one bank is possible for all banks, and the belief that the money supply can be controlled by reserves management. The origins of the idea of QE, and its defense when it was applied in Britain, are analysed through this lens. An empirical analysis of the effect of reserves on lending is conducted; we do not find evidence that QE ‘worked’ either by a direct effect on money spending, or through an equity market effect. These findings are placed in a historical context in a comparison with earlier money control experiments in the UK