Decent and equal work in agri-food systems: Evidence from Peru

Abstract

Agri-food systems are important sources of rural off-farm employment, but insights on job quality are limited. We study job quality in the Peruvian horticultural sector and explore the driving forces of decent and equal work, using survey data and econometric methods. We find structural disparities in wages and job quality between men and women and between local and migrant workers, trade-offs between wage and nonwage dimensions of decent work, and sector and company differences. Our findings contest that global value chains are a catalyst for decent and equal work and underscore the importance of formalization and government regulation of employment.