Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-pwrkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-13T07:16:57.805Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Income and Economic Status of People with Farm Earnings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Donald K. Larson
Affiliation:
Economic Development Division, Economic Research Service, USDA
Thomas A. Carlin
Affiliation:
Economic Development Division, Economic Research Service, USDA

Extract

Total money income typically is used to indicate the relative economic status of people. A family with total money income below some commonly recognized standard may be deemed to be poor. For example, the official low-income standard is the benchmark used by most analysts to indicate persons in poverty [15]. Historically, the proportion of farm people with low incomes has been greater than that for nonfarm people. In the 1960's, however, the income gap between farm and nonfarm people narrowed due primarily to increased off-farm income [2]. Growth in off-farm income in recent years ranks among several major changes affecting families in the farming sector [3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16].

We recognize that the concept of economic status is multi-dimensional including elements other than current money income. Some of these include aspects of permanent income [4], net worth [18], and the general quality of life [1, 6].

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1974

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[1]Bonnen, James T., Hildreth, James, Judge, George, Tolley, George, and Trelogan, Harry. “Our Obsolete Data Systems: New Directions and Opportunites.” The AAEA Committee on Economic Statistics, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 54, No. 5, Dec. 1972.Google Scholar
[2]Carlin, Thomas A.Farm Families Narrowed the Income Gap in the 1960's.Agricultural Finance Review, Vol. 33, July 1972.Google Scholar
[3]Carlin, Thomas A., and Smith, Allen G.. “A New Approach in Accounting for Our Nation's Farm Income.Agricultural Finance Review, Vol. 34, July 1973.Google Scholar
[4]Friedman, M.A Theory of the Consumption Function. Princeton University Press for National Bureau of Economic Research, Princeton, N.J., 1952.Google Scholar
[5]Larson, Donald K.Wage and Salary Income: A ‘Big Crop’ for People with Farm Earnings.” Journal of Northeastern Agricultural Economics Council, Vol. 3, No. 1, May 1974.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[6]William, Nordhaus, and Tobin, James. “Is Growth Obsolete?Economic Growth, Fiftieth Anniversary Colloquium, Vol. 5, National Bureau of Economic Research, New York, 1972.Google Scholar
[7]Reinsel, E. I.Farm and Off-Farm Income Reported on Federal Tax Returns. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, ERS-383, Aug. 1968.Google Scholar
[8]Reinsel, E. I.People with Farm Earnings… Source and Distribution of Income. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, ERS-498, March 1972.Google Scholar
[9]Jerry, Sharpies, and Prindle, Allen. “Income Characteristics of Farm Families in the Corn Belt.Agricultural Finance Review, Vol. 34, July 1973.Google Scholar
[10]Smith, Edward J.Economic Profile of Limited Resource Farmers.” Limited Resource Farmers, Workshop Proceedings, Bulletin Y-44, National Fertilizer Development Center, Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, Ala., May 1972.Google Scholar
[11]U.S. Council of Economic Advisers. Economic Report of the President, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C., Feb. 1974.Google Scholar
[12]U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Farm Income Situation, Economic Research Service, FIS-222, July 1973.Google Scholar
[13]U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The Year Book of Agriculture, 1970. “Contours of Change,” U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
[14]U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. 1973 Handbook of Agricultural Charts. Agricultural Handbook No. 455, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C., Oct. 1973.Google Scholar
[15]U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Current Population Reports. Series P-60, No. 68, “Poverty in the United States: 1959 to 1968,” U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1969.Google Scholar
[16]U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Farm Management, Farm Operators. Chapter 3, Vol. II, General Report, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1973.Google Scholar
[17]U.S. Dept. of the Treasury. Statistics of Income, 1963. Individual Income Tax Returns, Internal Revenue Service, Jan. 1966.Google Scholar
[18]Weisbrod, Burton A., and Lee Hanson, W.. “An Income-Net Worth Approach to Measuring Economic Welfare.American Economic Review, Vol. 63, No. 5, Dec. 1968.Google Scholar