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The paper argues that much of the farm-nonfarm labour mobility in rural Bangladesh is, in nature, an intergenerational occupational choice-induced change rather than a sectoral shift within the current generation. Bangladesh has a large share of youth (aged 15-29 years) in the labour force, and it experienced a major structural shift in employment between 1995 and 2010 as agricultural employment fell from 51.4 per cent to 42.3 per cent. Much of this shift has been due to changes in youth employment, as youth employment in agriculture fell from 49.8 per cent to 33.1 per cent. The cohort analysis (pseudo-panel) shows that the reduction in the share of the male youth population working in agriculture is due mainly to a sharp reduction in the percentage of youth who start out in agriculture rather than a shift by individuals from agricultural to non-agricultural employment during their lifetime. Analysis of correlates of the nonfarm orientation of rural youth indicates the importance of gender, human capital, access to electricity, proximity to cities, and migration opportunities. The results suggest the importance of supporting rural industry and service activities to meet the future demand for jobs for the rural youth.
Dorosh et al. (Wed,) studied this question.