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Using National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) data, we examine which farmworkers are unionized and whether their status differs systematically from non‐unionized farmworkers. Logit results indicate farmworkers are less likely to be unionized if they are Black, unauthorized to work in the U.S., less educated, have English proficiency, work for farm labor contractors (versus growers), and cultivate field (vs. horticulture) crops. Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition reveals that union members earn $0.87 more in hourly wages, are 4.8% points more likely to receive a bonus, and are 15.6% points more likely to have employer‐provided health insurance than comparable non‐unionized farmworkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors influence the economic opportunities for Hispanic women. In particular, their gender and ethnicity shape employment paths, as does their immigration status. Hispanic entrepreneurship is seeing rapid growth, but the heterogeneity of that group remains understudied. Using 2015–2019 ACS data, we investigate formal (incorporated) and informal (unincorporated) self-employment across three key factors—namely gender, Hispanic ethnicity, and immigration status—guided by an intersectional theoretical framework and quantitative data analysis. With our intersectional approach, we analyze how categories of marginalization overlap and compound to shape socioeconomic outcomes. We find self-employment propensities across social dimensions are not merely additive, nor should they be considered in isolation. Overlaying disadvantaged statuses has a greater effect than each alone, highlighting the need for policies tailored to help those who face multiple barriers to economic prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses Current Population Survey data and econometric techniques to examine whether working poor households improve their economic wellbeing by working more hours. For working households overall, full-time work puts them in a 49–78% better position than part-time work (as measured by resources-to-need and depending on methodology). For poor families, however, full-time work makes them 1.3–2.7% better off than part-time work. The latter finding reflects that the higher earnings of full-time work come at considerable cost: lower public assistance benefits and higher medical, work, and childcare expenditures. We discuss policies that may reduce these tradeoffs for poor working households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful farms—in the public imagination, agricultural policy, and more—tend to be highly profitable and operate at extremely large scales. Research has shown that women are less likely to operate these types of farms, possibly due to their preferences and lifestyle choices. There is evidence, however, that these gaps are additionally the result of differences in access to resources due to gender discrimination. Patterns of inequity in land inheritance and other resources limit women's farm size and choice of crops, and thus their opportunities to farm at larger, more profitable scales. Nonetheless, women farmers also employ creative strategies to make farming work for them. Our study uses 2017 Census of Agriculture data to compare women and men farmers at 7 different farm scales, revealing gendered strategies and comparing men and women farmers on equal footing. This presents a more nuanced picture of women's participation in farming at various scales. Overall, we find that within farm scales, women are often doing just as well as men—usually with fewer or different resources and approaches. Women's unbalanced representation at each farm scale, however, helps to explain why women are not always envisioned as "real farmers" in the popular conscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful farms—in the public imagination, agricultural policy, and more—tend to be highly profitable and operate at extremely large scales. Research has shown that women are less likely to operate these types of farms, possibly due to their preferences and lifestyle choices. There is evidence, however, that these gaps are additionally the result of differences in access to resources due to gender discrimination. Patterns of inequity in land inheritance and other resources limit women's farm size and choice of crops, and thus their opportunities to farm at larger, more profitable scales. Nonetheless, women farmers also employ creative strategies to make farming work for them. Our study uses 2017 Census of Agriculture data to compare women and men farmers at 7 different farm scales, revealing gendered strategies and comparing men and women farmers on equal footing. This presents a more nuanced picture of women's participation in farming at various scales. Overall, we find that within farm scales, women are often doing just as well as men—usually with fewer or different resources and approaches. Women's unbalanced representation at each farm scale, however, helps to explain why women are not always envisioned as "real farmers" in the popular conscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural wealth creation and local entrepreneurship are emerging economic development approaches that bring back a sense of self-determination to rural communities. However, their potential is often greatly diminished by preconceived and opposing notions within the community on what drives economic growth. The Dollar Game is an innovative curriculum where participants collectively build an understanding of how innovation, income distribution and export affect their communities. Teams play different scenarios, starting with an island economy isolated from grants, subsidies, and trading opportunities and builds to a connected economy where they eventually lose ownership of the local value-chain.

We find that in a typical year, between 2010 and 2019, there were an estimated 887,778 self-employed poor people in the U.S. The self-employed poor (vs. poor wage/salary workers) are less likely to belong to racial/ethnic minority groups, more educated, and more likely to be homeowners. Self-employment does not appear to pay off for America’s poor. The poor experience an entrepreneurial earnings penalty (the loss in earnings being self-employed vs. working for wages) ranging between 12% and 43%. Future research is needed to understand why poor people choose self-employment, despite lower earnings on average than in wage work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Census of Agriculture (2017) data, we investigate the association between the principal operator's sexual orientation and farm profitability. Farms run by a male principal operator married to another male (MMM) have higher profits than farms run by a male principal operator married to a woman (MMW), a woman married to a man (WMM), and a woman married to another woman (WMW). Having two men on farm confers profit advantages. Compared with other marital combinations studied, MMM operate large‐scale farms, are more experienced farmers, and are more likely to engage in commodity agriculture. Findings suggest gender, not sexual orientation, is driving the observed profit gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farm operation is among the most gender‐unequal occupations in the U.S. Data from the 2017 U.S. Census of Agriculture reveals that average net farm income was 151% higher on farms with a male versus a female principal operator. Decomposition analysis indicates the gender gap is almost entirely explained by differences in endowments. Female farmers have lower farm profitability than their male counterparts because their operations use far less capital (land, machinery, and labor), they have less farming experience, and they engage in the production of commodities that are less profitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use nationally representative data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey to assess gender‐based differences in wages and benefits of hired farmworkers. Decomposition and matching results indicate that, compared to men, women make 5% to 6% less in hourly wages and are less likely to receive a bonus or have health insurance paid by their employer. These gender gaps are partly explained by differences between female and male farmworkers in farming experience, hours worked, farm tasks, and crops cultivated. Sizable proportions of the gender gaps are unexplained and the result of discrimination, unmeasured differences between women and men, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]