Part-time Farming Trends in China: A Comparison with the Japanese and Korean Experience1

A better understanding of the development of part-time farming in China would be invaluable both for academic inquiry and policy formulation. This study, using farm-level survey data, examines the development of part-time farming in China. The two key questions examined are (1) how part-time farming evolves over time and (2) how part-time farming may be related to regional economic development. This study also highlights part-time farming in Japan and Korea and compares China's with them. Given the many similarities in agrarian arrangements between these three countries, it should be valuable to examine part-time farming and related policy issues in China with a reference to Japan and Korea.