Quantifying rural livelihood strategies in developing countries using an activity choice approach
通过活动变量识别和潜在类别聚类分析，在玻利维亚、尼泊尔和莫桑比克识别出五种农村生计策略，发现收入多样化是常态，非农收入显著提高收入，而小规模农户是最大且最贫困的生计群体。
Abstract This article uses a quantitative activity choice approach, based on identification of activity variables and application of latent class cluster analysis, to identify five major rural livelihood strategies pursued by households ( n = 576) in Bolivia, Nepal, and Mozambique. Income sources and welfare outcomes are compared across strategies and household differences in asset holdings are analyzed using multinomial logit regression. Findings reveal that income diversification is the norm, that a higher degree of specialization does not characterize more remunerative livelihood strategies, that nonfarm income significantly contributes to higher income earnings, that environmental reliance does not vary across strategies, and that small‐scale farmers are the largest and poorest livelihood group. Some livelihood strategies are superior to all other strategies in terms of income earned; access to more remunerative livelihood strategies is determined by land ownership, education, and ethnic affiliation. Finally, the article also highlights that additional work is required to determine the most suitable methods for livelihood strategy identification.