New theoretical insights and evidence from Malawi provide evidence of off- farm labor supply and correlated shocks. A large part of the rural landscape of developing countries is dominated by subsistence farmers, operating on small or marginal plots of land. They take recourse to a number of coping strategies to protect themselves from various risks in the absence of insurance markets. Some engage in specialization that involves adoption of production techniques that are resistant to pests, droughts, and other environmental risk factors. Others resort to consumption smoothing via diversification, some of which involves combining farm and off-farm activities within the same household.