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Decomposition of Income Distribution Among Farm Families

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2017

Jill L. Findeis  and
Venkateshwar K. Reddy
Jill L. Findeis
Affiliation:
Agricultural Economics, Pennsylvania State University
Venkateshwar K. Reddy
Affiliation:
Agricultural Economics, Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract

The greater reliance of U.S. farm families on off-farm income has implications for the structure of agriculture and the distribution of income within agriculture. Using annual data on farm households from the Current Population Survey, the degree of income inequality for the U.S. and by region is assessed for 1984. The distribution of income among farm families is decomposed by income source. Off-farm income is shown to contribute to higher average incomes and reduce income inequality at the margin, but only in regions where full-time farming predominates. In the Northeast and South, increases in off-farm income increase regional income inequality.

Type
Articles
Information
Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , October 1987 , pp. 165 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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Footnotes

The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments made by Steven Smith, George McDowell, Roger Beck and anonymous reviewers of the Journal.

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