Rural Non-Farm Sector in Asia-A Characterisation

A Characterisation Swapna Mukhopadhyay There have been some attempts to collate the quantitative information on the size and structure of the rural non- farm sector. However, there have been few systematic attempts to characterise or analyse its role in the developmental process. In fact, a lot of the conflicting evidence and controversies that are found in the literature retarding the rural non-farm sector arises precisely because of the lack of a clear definition and of an analytical framework characterising its nature and place in the economic system.