Abstract:
The study examines the heterogeneous livelihood impacts of oil palm expansion among smallholder farmers in Jambi Province, Sumatra. Per-capita annual consumption expenditure (PACE) is chosen as a quantitative measure of livelihood status of farm-households. Its determinants are estimated using standard treatment-effect and endogenous switching regression models. After controlling for self-selection bias, adopters of oil palm are found increasing their PACE significantly in comparison to the counterfactual. On the other hand, most of the non-adopters are better-off without oil palm, presenting a strong case of comparative advantage. Differential consumption impacts of observed variables are evident across adoption and non-adoption regimes. In general, farm-households with higher opportunity cost of family labour benefit disproportionately more with oil palm adoption.