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The Happy Farmer: The Effect of Nonpecuniary Benefits on Behavior
Author(s) -
Howley Peter
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.1093/ajae/aav020
Subject(s) - disinvestment , diversification (marketing strategy) , economics , production (economics) , agricultural economics , business , microeconomics , marketing , incentive
I test empirically the relationship between farmers’ perceptions of the nonpecuniary benefits from farming with a variety of field behaviors such as disinvestment, production, diversification, and off‐farm labor market participation. Results suggest that nonpecuniary benefits have an important influence on a wide range of farmer activities. While costs and returns are clearly important, I suggest that nonpecuniary benefits may make some choices more attractive than others which may be more rewarding financially.