RIGA Project

The RIGA Project's purpose is to create an income measure that is comparable within and between countries.[1]

The RIGA Project Logo

According to the RIGA Project website,[2] the key questions addressed by the RIGA Project include:

• What are the relationships between the various Rural Income Generating Activities (RIGAs)?
• What types of RIGAs are associated with poverty reduction?
• What is the relationship between various Rural Non-Farm activities and agriculture?
• What is the link between RIGAs and food security?

In order to answer these questions, the RIGA Project developed a standardized income calculation method that is applied only to country surveys that meet strict criteria of data requirements. The definition of income utilized closely adheres to the one set out by the International Labour Organization. The "Resolution Concerning Household Income and Expenditure Statistics" passed by ILO outlines that household income includes all monetary and in-kind receipts that a household receives, which should include income from wage employment, self-employment, property, own consumption of household goods, and both public and private transfers.[3] Since agriculture remains the principal activity for rural households, the RIGA Project also considers income generated from on-farm activities, both those sold and consumed by the household.[4][5][6]

The need for standardized income data has arisen from the desire of the development community to understand the economic activities of rural households, especially the rural non-farm activities that have been continually overlooked even as the importance of the rural non-farm economy increases.[7] With this in mind, the RIGA Project was initiated as a collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank, and American University (Washington, DC).[8] Only after consultation on the methodology between the partners, did the analysis and compilation of the data begin in 2005. Since 2005, the RIGA Project has created income aggregates for almost 30 countries, which became available to the public, free of charge, with the launch of the website in April 2009. The work of the Project has continued to expand with the addition of RIGA-L. The RIGA-Labor data provides a more in-depth look into the wage employment element of income generating activities, with analysis possible both at the individual and job level.[9]

The database contains an increasing number of surveys from countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Some of the countries have surveys for multiple years, with some of the multi-year countries (e.g. Indonesia, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Vietnam) including panel datasets.[10]

A Cross Country Comparison of Rural Income Generating Activities January 2010 World Development. B. Davis, P. Winters, G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, E.J. Quiñones, A. Zezza, C. Azzarri, K. Stamoulis and S. DiGiuseppe.

Assets, Activities and Rural Income Generation: Evidence from a Multicountry Analysis. July 2009 P. Winters, B. Davis, G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, E.J. Quiñones, A. Zezza, C. Azzarri, and K. Stamoulis.

Rural Income Generating Activities: Whatever Happened to the Institutional Vacuum? Evidence from Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Vietnam July 2009 A. Zezza, G. Carletto, B. Davis, K. Stamoulis and P. Winters.

Wage inequality in international perspective: Effects of location, sector, and gender. March 2009 T. Hertz, P. Winters, A. P. de la O, E. Quiñones, B. Davis, A. Zezza

Accounting for the Diversity of Rural Income Sources in Developing Countries: The Experience of the Rural Income Generating Activities Project June 2009 K. Covarrubias, A.P. de la O Campos, and A. Zezza

A Profile of the Rural Poor April 2009 A. Valdés, W. Foster, G. Anríquez, C. Azzarri, K. Covarrubias, B. Davis, S. DiGiuseppe, T. Essam, T. Hertz, A.P. de la O, E. Quiñones, K. Stamoulis, P. Winters and A. Zezza

Assets, Activities and Rural Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from a Multicountry Analysis January 2009 P. Winters, B. Davis, G. Carletto, K.Covarrubias, K.Stamoulis, E. Quiñones, and A. Zezza

A Cross Country Comparison of Rural Income Generating Activities January 2009 B. Davis, P. Winters, G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, E. Quiñones, A. Zezza, K. Stamoulis, and S. Di Giuseppe

Patterns of Rural Development: A Cross-Country Comparison Using Microeconomic Data August 2008 P. Winters, T. Essam, B. Davis, A. Zezza, G. Carletto, and K. Stamoulis

Rural Wage Employment in Developing Countries August 2008 P. Winters, A.P. de la O, E. Quiñones, T. Hertz, B. Davis, A Zezza, K. Covarrubias, and K. Stamoulis

The Impact of Rising Food Prices on the Poor August 2008 A. Zezza, B. Davis, C. Azzarri, K. Covarrubias, L. Tasciotti, and G. Anr¡quez

Rural Household Access to Assets and Agrarian Institutions: A Cross Country Comparison March 2008 A. Zezza, P. Winters, B. Davis, G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, E. Quiñones, K. Stamoulis, L. Tasciotti, and S. Di Giuseppe

Does Urban Agriculture Enhance Dietary Diversity? Empirical Evidence from a Sample of Developing Countries March 2008 (report short version) A. Zezza and L. Tasciotti

Rural income generating activities in developing countries:re-assessing the evidence 2007 (powerpoint presentation) G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, B. Davis, M. Krausova, K. Stamoulis, P. Winters and A. Zezza

Rural Income Generating Activities: Whatever Happened to the Institutional Vacuum? Evidence from Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Vietnam November 2007 A. Zezza, G. Carletto, B. Davis, K. Stamoulis and P. Winters

Rural Income Generating Activities Study: Methodological note on the construction of income aggregates October 2007. G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, B. Davis, M. Krausova and P. Winters

Rural Household Access to Assets and Agrarian Institutions: A Cross Country Comparison May 2007 A. Zezza, P. Winters, B. Davis, G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, E. Quiñones, K. Stamoulis, T. Karfakis, L. Tasciotti, S. DiGiuseppe and G. Bonomi

Rural Income Generating Activities: A Cross Country Comparison May 2007 B. Davis, P. Winters, G. Carletto, K. Covarrubias, E. Quiñones, A. Zezza, K. Stamoulis, G. Bonomi and S. DiGiuseppe

• RIGA Project Website
• FAO Website