Judith Möllers

• PhD
• Deputy Head of Department at Leibniz-Institut of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies

Remittances play an essential role in the interlinkage of migration and development. While past research has focused mainly on the monetary flows and their determinants, this article offers a deeper understanding of remitting as a social practice. Our research contributes to the emerging literature on remittance transfers in several directions. Usi...

People use social comparisons to reduce uncertainty when facing new or stressful situations. This study explores how a stressful experience, the COVID-19 pandemic, changed how people compare their income. It relates these changes to subjective well-being (SWB). We use a repeated cross-sectional dataset of students at two German universities from be...

This article uses a mixed‐methods approach to evaluate how remittances impact household spending behaviour in Kosovo. Based on a nationally representative data set and using matching techniques, it shows that migration does not cause substantive changes in household spending. While remittances cover basic consumption needs, there are no impacts on...

This paper discusses the ambiguous relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being. It starts from the hypothesis that measures of perceived income inequality and ‘fair’ inequality better explain subjective well-being than objective measures. Not only do people systematically fail to locate their income position within an objective...

Empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that an individual’s position in an income stratum—more than the absolute income level—determines subjective well-being. However, studies on subjective well-being suffer from a critical methodological weakness: they use exogenously defined reference groups. Our study addresses this point by applying an inn...

Levitt's groundbreaking concept of social remittances has inspired numerous empirical studies in migration research. However, the theoretical foundations of the concept remain weak. Most fundamentally, the interpretations of what social remittances are have multiplied, leaving the concept to not much more than a catchphrase. This paper puts forward...

Producer organisations bear great potential to link small-scale farmers to markets. In post-communist economies, historically negative attitudes towards cooperatives are blamed as barriers to collaboration, but little is known about the broader range of motives to (not) cooperate. We use a structural equation model to analyse cooperation intentions...

Purpose Ethical consumption is on the rise amidst concerns about the environmental and health impacts of industrial agriculture. In light of increasingly complex food choices, alternative food networks have emerged. However, their success depends on a deeper understanding of the product attributes that guide (ethical) consumer decisions. This study...

In Kosovo, the majority of small farms combines agricultural activities with nonagricultural income sources. However, the economy could benefit from both an increasing commercialisation of farms as well as a widening set non-farm income sources especially in rural areas. A survey of 680 smallholder farms, representative for this type of farm in Kos...

The overall objective of this report is to identify and conduct analysis of short food supply chains (SFSCs) among small farmers in the Western Balkans and Turkey. The report’s analyses are based on the primary data collected from 397 smallholder farmers through semi-structured interviews in all Western Balkan countries/territories (Albania, Bosnia...

While the rural exodus dominates public and scientific debates, considerably less attention has been given to studying why the overwhelming majority of people worldwide remain immobile. As a consequence of this, the reasons why people stay, especially in economically weaker rural areas, are still not fully understood. This paper aims to contribute...

This paper investigates dynamic effects of remittances on households’ poverty and income distribution. Using state-of-the-art matching techniques, we measure impacts based on counterfactual scenarios, and make a step forward by applying for the first time a dose-response function approach to assess poverty effects due to variations in the time-leng...

Since declaring its independence in 2008, the Republic of Kosovo has been undergoing a challenging transition. This is aggravated by dramatic unemployment, widespread corruption and, for women, persisting patriarchal structures. Indeed, the employment rate of women in Kosovo is among the lowest in the world — a mere 18 %. These diverse economic and...

The rural out‐migration of young people leads to problems such as “brain drain” and the overageing of the rural population. The purpose of this paper is to study return migration motives among students originating from rural areas. The case study relates to the province of Akmola, northern Kazakhstan. Based on data collected from college and univer...

Almost three decades since the collapse of the socialist regime, Romania’s farm structure is characterized by a distinct dual pattern. The far majority of farms is relatively small, while a small number manages about half of the total utilized agricultural area. Most farmers face significant constraints in creating viable farm businesses. When this...

Western Europe is one of the main destinations for young emigrants coming from Eastern Europe. While most migrants want to move into urban areas, this paper explores in detail the motivational make-up of those targeting international rural destinations. Specifically, we look at the motivation behind the intentions of soon-to-graduate students of ag...

In the Republic of Moldova, a large number of households that received land shares after the break-down of the collective farm structure currently focus on semi-subsistence agriculture. Often, one or more members of these households have migrated abroad. This paper aims at assessing the impact of remittances on their agricultural production practic...

After the breakdown of the communist regime in Romania, collective farms were replaced by a large number of small-scale private farms. Although cooperation seems to be a favourable choice for these smallholders, it did not develop as perhaps expected. This article explores the factors that determine the formation of the intention of Romanian vegeta...

In this study, we augment Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with an institutional embeddedness logic to develop and test a mediated model of the effects of perceived corruption on attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioral control, which in turn determine entrepreneurial intentions. We test our three hypotheses on a sample of 231 aspir...

A remarkable out-migration from Kosovo occurred after the winter 2014/15, raising urgent questions about its underlying drivers and implications for both Kosovo and the destination countries. This article aims at providing a better understanding of key migration triggers and some particularities of the phenomenon. We link our empirically found migr...

A remarkable exodus from Kosovo occurred in the winter 2014/15, raising urgent questions about its underlying drivers and implications for both Kosovo and the destination countries. This policy brief provides a first-hand qualitative snapshot of key migration drivers, as well as insights on some particularities of the phenomenon. We find that the e...

AbstractThis paper explores migrants? motivations to remit from a new, behavioural (cognitive) perspective, based on Structural Equation Modelling. We supplement the mainstream economic analyses of migrants? observed characteristics by analysing remitting behaviour based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). With this behavioural lens, we show...

In the search for viable rural innovations that serve both the health concerns of consumers and the economic needs of small-scale farms in Eastern Europe, this study deals with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). In Romania, subsistence based small-scale farming is a persistent phenomenon that goes hand-in-hand with unfavourable income opportuni...

The economic wellbeing of a large number of rural Kosovar families depends heavily on migrants’ remittances. This paper aims at analysing the impact of migration on rural poverty and inequality in Kosovo. It draws on the 2009 nationally representative Kosovo Remittance Study. Analyses are based on a comparison with counterfactual migrant household...

PurposeThis chapter takes a qualitative snapshot of rural entrepreneurs in Bulgaria. The aim is to shed light on the formation of non-farm start-up intentions in rural post-communism communities. MethodologyA qualitative ethnographical methodological approach centred on a theoretical framework, based on Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour. P...

Searching for possible viable economic pathways for small-scale farms in Eastern Europe, this study is concerned with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). We are mainly interested in the costs and benefits for both sides, the farmers and the consumers, when entering into a direct, trust-based market relationship in the form of CSA. The study is t...

Kosovo’s small economy substantially relies on money from abroad: an extraordinarily high number of migrants contribute to foreign capital inflow through remittances; remittances represented around 13% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009. This means that the wellbeing of many Kosovar families financially depends on their migrated family members...

The prevalence of subsistence-oriented farming and the scarcity of non-farm employment make migration a common livelihood strategy in rural Kosovo. Consequently, many households rely heavily on remittances. Although migrants themselves often struggle to finance their everyday lives in their host countries, remittances continue to flow. As almost al...

Networking is an inherent part of the European Union (EU) programme Liaison entre actions de développement de l’économie rurale1 (LEADER): through supporting local partnerships, EU-wide cooperation and information exchange, LEADER aims at strengthening the socioeconomic development of rural regions and improving local governance. Employing Social N...

Networking is an inherent part of the European Union (EU) programme Liaison entre actions de développement de l'économie rurale¹ (LEADER): through supporting local partnerships, EU-wide cooperation and information exchange, LEADER aims at strengthening the socioeconomic development of rural regions and improving local governance. Employing Social N...

This paper approaches the migrant’s motivation to remit from a new, behavioural perspective. We apply the well-established Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) using a structural equation model for the first time for this specific research question. Our micro-dataset stems from a 2009/10 survey, covering Albanian migrants from Kosovo living in Germany...

This contribution examines the formation of non-farm start-up intentions among farmers in rural Bulgaria and fills a gap in the study of rural entrepreneurship. The paper applies the Theory of Planned Behavior, extending it by the constructs of perceived corruption and capital endowment. The 2008/2009 sample consists of 195 farm households. Formati...

Why Do We Need Networking for European Rural Development Policies? The implementation of LEADER and the National Network for Rural Development in Romania Networking is a political instrument intrinsically tied to social capital. Although the effects are difficult to measure, it is financially supported under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural...

Most of the poor in Eastern Europe belong to families with at least one working member, meaning that work per se does not protect families from poverty. As farm families in particular are characterized by an elevated poverty risk, rural non-farm employment (RNFE) could, however, curtail increases in economic vulnerability and inequality. This artic...

Table of Contents: Gertrud Buchenrieder and Judith Möllers, The transformation of the rural economy in the new member states of the European Union: Implications for empirical analyses of rural structural change and livelihoods... 1; Luka Juvančič and Tina Jaklič, Recent trends, drivers and impacts of structural change in agriculture... 37; Carme...

Changes in the rural labour market, especially the increase of rural non-farm employment are recognised as one dimension of structural change. Labour allocation decisions are driven by economic incentives such as wage differentials, but also non-economic motives may play a decisive role. This paper summarises theoretical insights and presents an in...

The current discussion regarding the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is challenging due to the varying needs and interests of the old and new member states (NMS) of the European Union (EU). The NMS still display tremendous disparities in most structural and socio-economic indicators compared to the EU15 average, implying that further...

Rural non-farm employment (RNFE) is thought to ease poverty, economic vulnerability and income inequality. Two key questions arise: (1) Do alternative income sources actually help to raise the welfare of small family farms? (2) How is the rural regional income distribution affected by mixed income structures? Based on empirical farm household data...

The well-known EU LEADER programme aims at using the endogenous potential of rural regions and at improving local governance. Especially since the current funding period doubts are rising about whether the programme actually delivers what it promises. Indeed, translating the LEADER approach is a challenge, not only for new EU member states. This pa...

Croatia is very close to meeting the requirements for becoming a member of the European Union (EU). Obviously, the agricultural sector and food processing chain are core issues within the negotiation process. This paper discusses the competitiveness of Croatia’s agro-food sector, specifically dairy products, within the EU-25 market. Two analytical...

Successful structural change in agriculture depends on several preconditions, some of which are only indirectly linked to the farming sector. The rural non-farm economy is known as one important driver of structural change because it offers alternative employment. However, little is known about the factors that influence farm exit decisions. Based...

Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe Theodor-Lieser-Str. 2, D-06120 Halle (Saale), Germany + Corresponding author: marquardt@iamo.de Paper prepared for presentation at the 118th seminar of the EAAE (European Association of Agricultural Economists), 'Rural development: governance, policy design and delivery' L...

An aging population, small-scale farming structures, bad infrastructure and outmigration of the young and qualified often hinder the necessary economic development in rural regions in Bulgaria. Some relief could come from the small group of entrepreneurs in the non-farm sector. Running a business allows individuals to take control over their econom...

The contributions in this edited volume constitute the mini-symposium on 'Structural change in Europe's rural regions-Farm livelihoods between subsistence orientation, modernization and non-farm diversification' at the international conference of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) on 'The New Landscape of Global Agricul...

Structural change in agriculture, although often connected with social hardship of uncompetitive small-scale farms and a loss of tradition, is inevitable. It is the basis for successful rural development. We discuss whether early retirement schemes (ERS) are a good value for public money in terms of the necessary adaptations of the farming sector i...

Edited volume of the contributions to the mini-symposium of the same title at the IAAE conference 2009.

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Rural non-farm employment (RNFE) is thought to curtail increases in rural poverty and income inequality. In the Croatian context three key questions arise: (1) Does the uptake of alternative employment actually help to raise the welfare of small family farms? (2) How is the rural income distribution affected by mixed income structures? (3) Will non...

The European Union (EU) is the main source of remittances world wide and Albania, struck by abject poverty, is Europe’s number one country sending out migrants. Albania’s economy as well as its households’ welfare strongly depend on remittances. Consequently, the topic of migration is cutting-edge for EU and Albanian policy makers. T...

In Croatia, farmers prepare themselves for the impending EU accession and consider their future economic opportunities in and outside agriculture. This study on farmer's strategies reviews empirical evidence of a unique household survey conducted in early 2007 in Croatia. The main objective of this paper is to present new insights on the transition...

The paper uses up-to-date household data from two Northern-Albanian regions. It summarises socio-economic facts on taking up remunerative non-farm employment and identifies the determinants of non-farm income diversification at the farm household level based on a binary logistic regression. Furthermore, the paper provides insight in the northern-Al...

Dissemination level (see DoW p. 27-30) PU Public PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services) CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services) 1 The order of authors represents the time...

Everybody knows: rural regions offer fewer possibilities for non-farm employment than urban areas. For this reason, it was the semi-subsistence farm structures that had to absorb the released workers from the big rural state enterprises and the urban-rural migrants fleeing unemployment in the towns in the course of economic transformation. This has...

The non-farm sector is crucial to rural households in transition economies since it offers employment, reduces urban migration and can contribute to poverty reduction, economic growth and a more equal income distribution. This study on diversification decisions and rural incomes reviews evidence from a household survey in Macedonia. It looks at non...

Direct income payments (DIP) are in the centre of the discussion in the ongoing political debate whether agricultural policy objectives can be pursued in an economically more efficient and less distorting way. This paper discusses under which circumstances DIP are an appropriate and efficient measure to address the objectives of agricultural polici...

Außerlandwirtschaftliche Diversifikation findet seit Ende der 1990er Jahre verstärkte Beachtung in der Diskussion über neue Ansätze in der ländlichen Entwicklungspolitik. Die Erschließung des außerlandwirtschaftlichen Sektors wird als Ausweg aus dem Beschäftigungsdilemma eines im Zuge der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung schrumpfenden landwirtschaftlic...

Problem and objectives. Non-farm rural diversification is gaining prominence in the debate on rural development since the end of the 1990s. The expansion of non-farm employment and the diversification of incomes are important policy objectives because they offer a solution to the employment and structural problems of a shrinking agricultural sector...

Employment diversification is a major livelihood strategy in rural areas and is thus a focal point of the ongoing rural development debate. The issue of non-farm diversification is undoubtedly complex and its determinants are difficult to identify. Increasingly, there is a need to address, clarify and bring together theoretical concepts for analysi...

Corresponding author: phone +49 345 2928129, fax +49 345 2928199, e-mail fritzsch@iamo.de Paper prepared for presentation at the 118 th seminar of the EAAE (European Association of Agricultural Economists), 'Rural development: governance, policy design and delivery' Ljubljana, Slovenia, August 25-27, 2010 © 2010 by Jana Fritzsch, Gertrud Buchenried...

Rural non-farm employment (NFRE) is gaining prominence in debates on rural development (Start 2001). The expansion of NFRE and diversification of income are desirable policy objectives because they give individuals and households more options to improve livelihood security and to raise their living standards. Empirical evidence suggests that there...