@article{deSilva:205958,
      recid = {205958},
      author = {de Silva, L.R and Kodithuwakku, K.A.S.S},
      title = {Pluriactivity and Socio-economic Success of Rural  Households},
      journal = {Sri Lankan Journal of Agricultural Economics},
      address = {2005},
      number = {1381-2016-115749},
      pages = {25},
      year = {2005},
      abstract = {The past few decades have seen a transformation in Sri  Lanka from a traditional agricultural based rural economy  to a more diversified economy leading to more pluriactive  farmers. Pluriactivity has been identified as a survival  and/or capital accumulation strategy. However, available  literature reveals that all the pluriactive households are  not socio-economically better-off. The objective of the  research is to compare and contrast better-off and  worse-off pluriactive households in a given locality. This  is in terms of the nature of income generation activities  carried out by them and will be discussed in line with  theories of entrepreneurship.  

Multiple embedded case  study strategy was adopted. This was in order to explore  meanings attached to socio-economic behaviours as perceived  by the rural households. The research was carried out in a  selected village in Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka.  Initially, households were divided into soio-economically  better off and worse off groups based on information  gathered from key informants and subsequently, two samples  were drawn from each group. Multiple data collection  methods such as in-depth interviews, group discussions and  direct observations were used. The data were analysed  qualitatively and the findings were supplemented with  quantifiable evidences whenever necessary in order to  increase the validity of conclusions. 

The study site was  a typical example of a resource constrained environment and  pluriactivty has been adapted by both groups in order to  increase their household income. However, the better off  households have diversified into more off farm income  generation activities and hence their dependency on  agriculture was lower than that of worse off households who  were mainly dependant on agricultural activities. In  addition, the better off households exhibited more  entrepreneurial qualities as they extract values from the  environment without regard to the resource owned by them.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/205958},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.205958},
}