Labour Commutation in the Agricultural Sector—An Analysis of Agricultural Workers in Chile

Abstract

Agricultural activity is a key strategic sector for countries, particularly for food production. One way to strengthen the sector is through the use of technology. However, while integrating new technologies, challenges have emerged in the sector with regard to incorporating workers. Thus, one way to resolve this workforce shortfall could be through labour commutation, which consists of people living in one territory but working in another. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the likelihood of agricultural workers becoming worker commuters. Chile is used as a case study, drawing on the Chilean National Employment Survey of 2018 to analyse differences among the five largest regions in the country: Great North, Small North, Central Zone, South, and Chilean Patagonia. Each zone possesses different characteristics, and a propensity score matching process was carried out within the data. The results indicate that agricultural workers with a higher education level, full-time jobs, working in the formal sector, and younger workers are more likely to commute. Different impacts of variables were found across the zones. However, most of the variables have similar impact on the likelihood to commute in different areas. Thus, from a labour perspective, public policies can create general incentives to attract a new workforce to strengthen the agricultural sector.