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Rainfall Shocks and Within-Community Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

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  • Thiede, Brian C.

Abstract

Household-level impacts of environmental shocks are often negative, but may vary considerably due to heterogeneous vulnerability. This paper considers how differential vulnerability among households affects inequality within rural communities in Ethiopia. This study makes novel use of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and a NASA agro-climatology dataset. Results show that rainfall deficits have an equalizing effect on within-community livestock inequality in parts of Ethiopia, but regional differences are observed. A non-significant effect is observed with respect to asset inequality. As an initial study on this topic, this paper outlines an agenda for future data collection and analysis efforts.

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  • Thiede, Brian C., 2014. "Rainfall Shocks and Within-Community Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 181-193.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:181-193
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.05.028
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    3. Maryia Bakhtsiyarava & Kathryn Grace, 2021. "Agricultural production diversity and child nutrition in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1407-1422, December.
    4. Ayala Wineman & Nicole M. Mason & Justus Ochieng & Lilian Kirimi, 2017. "Weather extremes and household welfare in rural Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(2), pages 281-300, April.
    5. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna L., 2017. "To Specialize or Diversify: Agricultural Diversity and Poverty Dynamics in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 214-226.
    6. Jackeline Velazco & Ramon Ballester, 2016. "Food Access and Shocks in Rural Households: Evidence from Bangladesh and Ethiopia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 527-549, November.
    7. Gregor Mager & Anja Faße, 2024. "The contribution of smallholders' livelihood activities on income inequality and poverty: Case study from rural Tanzania," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 644-676, January.
    8. Hirvonen, Kalle & Sohnesen, Thomas Pave & Bundervoet, Tom, 2020. "Impact of Ethiopia’s 2015 drought on child undernutrition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    9. Mager, Gregor & Faße, Anja, 2021. "The Contribution of Smallholders´ Livelihood Activities on Income Inequality and Poverty: Case Study from Rural Tanzania," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315405, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Bayani-Arias, Jaimmie Kim & Pulanca-Tan, Rosalina, 2017. "Analyzing the Relationship Between Exposure to Extreme Weather and Economic Inequality in the Philippines," Journal of Economics, Management & Agricultural Development, Journal of Economics, Management & Agricultural Development (JEMAD), vol. 3(1), June.
    11. Lohmann, Steffen & Lechtenfeld, Tobias, 2015. "The Effect of Drought on Health Outcomes and Health Expenditures in Rural Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 432-448.
    12. Gallenstein, Richard A., 2022. "Inequality and risk management: Evidence from a lab experiment in Ghana," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    13. Baarsch, Florent & Granadillos, Jessie R. & Hare, William & Knaus, Maria & Krapp, Mario & Schaeffer, Michiel & Lotze-Campen, Hermann, 2020. "The impact of climate change on incomes and convergence in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    14. Solomon Asfaw & Giuseppe Maggio & Alessandro Palma, 2018. "Climate Resilience Pathways of Rural Households. Evidence from Ethiopia," SPRU Working Paper Series 2018-18, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    15. Nattapong Puttanapong & Amornrat Luenam & Pit Jongwattanakul, 2022. "Spatial Analysis of Inequality in Thailand: Applications of Satellite Data and Spatial Statistics/Econometrics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-25, March.
    16. MAMOUDOU Ba & Mazhar Mughal, 2022. "Weather Shocks, Coping Strategies and Household Well-being: Evidence from Rural Mauritania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(3), pages 482-502, March.
    17. Iritani, Satoko, 2018. "Livestock holdings during and after 2011 drought in Ethiopia: Heterogeneous responses and livestock types," MPRA Paper 86528, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Wossen, Tesfamicheal & Berger, Thomas & Haile, Mekbib G. & Troost, Christian, 2018. "Impacts of climate variability and food price volatility on household income and food security of farm households in East and West Africa," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 7-15.
    19. Mesay Yami & Ferdi Meyer & Rashid Hassan, 2020. "The impact of production shocks on maize markets in Ethiopia: implications for regional trade and food security," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-25, December.
    20. Josephson, Anna Leigh & Michler, Jeffrey D., 2015. "To Specialize or Diversify: Agricultural Diversity and Poverty Persistence in Ethiopia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212459, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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