Backward‐bending supply curves and behaviour of subsistence farmers |
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| Authors: | Yukon Huang |
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| Institution: | 1. Assistant Professor of Economics , University of Virginia;2. Visiting Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam |
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| Abstract: | This paper formulates a model of the peasant economy to test the hypothesis that subsistence farmers are not responsive to economic opportunities and behave according to the notion of a backward‐bending supply curve. The productivity of farmers is analysed with respect to farm size, tenancy, off‐farm income, and other variables. The hypothesis is then tested using data from three paddy areas in Malaysia, each differing in the level of social and economic development. The results indicate that farmers in the more subsistence‐oriented area behave according to the backward‐bending supply curve hypothesis, while the more commercialised farmers do not. |
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