IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v38y2010i4p541-554.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Poverty Status and the Impact of Formal Credit on Technology Use and Wellbeing among Ethiopian Smallholders

Author

Listed:
  • Liverpool, Lenis Saweda O.
  • Winter-Nelson, Alex

Abstract

Summary This paper examines the impact of formal credit (largely microfinance) on the use of improved technology and on consumption and asset growth across households in different degrees of asset poverty. Using data from rural Ethiopia, the analysis finds no relationship between participation in microfinance programs and the use of technologies or consumption growth among the poorest households even though the use of certain technologies, like fertilizer, contributes to their asset accumulation over time. For other households, microfinance has positive effects on both consumption and asset growth as well as on the use of improved technology. The findings imply variation in constraints faced by different classes of poor households and suggest the value of asset-based poverty classifications in identifying target groups for poverty interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Liverpool, Lenis Saweda O. & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2010. "Poverty Status and the Impact of Formal Credit on Technology Use and Wellbeing among Ethiopian Smallholders," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 541-554, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:4:p:541-554
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(09)00197-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dercon, Stefan & Christiaensen, Luc, 2011. "Consumption risk, technology adoption and poverty traps: Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 159-173, November.
    2. Gershon Feder & Lawrence J. Lau & Justin Y. Lin & Xiaopeng Luo, 1990. "The Relationship between Credit and Productivity in Chinese Agriculture: A Microeconomic Model of Disequilibrium," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 72(5), pages 1151-1157.
    3. Foster, Andrew D & Rosenzweig, Mark R, 1995. "Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(6), pages 1176-1209, December.
    4. Oriana Bandiera & Imran Rasul, 2006. "Social Networks and Technology Adoption in Northern Mozambique," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 869-902, October.
    5. Besley, T. & Case, A., 1994. "Diffusion as a Learning Process: Evidence from HYV Cotton," Papers 174, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Development Studies.
    6. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    7. Douglas Staiger & James H. Stock, 1997. "Instrumental Variables Regression with Weak Instruments," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 557-586, May.
    8. Lay, Jann & M'Mukaria, George Michuki & Omar Mahmoud, Toman, 2007. "Boda-bodas rule: Non-agricultural activities and their inequality implications in Western Kenya," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 6543, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    9. Byerlee, Derek & Spielman, David J. & Alemu, Dawit & Gautam, Madhur, 2007. "Policies to promote cereal intensification in Ethiopia: A review of evidence and experience," IFPRI discussion papers 707, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. repec:pri:rpdevs:besley_case_diffusion is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Michelle Adato & Michael Carter & Julian May, 2006. "Exploring poverty traps and social exclusion in South Africa using qualitative and quantitative data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 226-247.
    12. Asfaw, Abay & Admassie, Assefa, 2004. "The role of education on the adoption of chemical fertiliser under different socioeconomic environments in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 215-228, May.
    13. Gine, Xavier & Klonner, Stefan, 2005. "Credit constraints as a barrier to technology adoption by the poor : lessons from South Indian small-scale fishery," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3665, The World Bank.
    14. Suleiman Abrar & Oliver Morrissey & Tony Rayner, 2004. "Crop‐Level Supply Response by Agro‐Climatic Region in Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 289-311, July.
    15. repec:pri:rpdevs:besley_case_diffusion.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jayne, T. S. & Govereh, J. & Wanzala, M. & Demeke, M., 2003. "Fertilizer market development: a comparative analysis of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zambia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 293-316, August.
    17. Michael Carter & Christopher Barrett, 2006. "The economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: An asset-based approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 178-199.
    18. G. S. Maddala, 1987. "Limited Dependent Variable Models Using Panel Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(3), pages 307-338.
    19. Gary Chamberlain, 1980. "Analysis of Covariance with Qualitative Data," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 225-238.
    20. Feleke, Shiferaw & Zegeye, Tesfaye, 2006. "Adoption of improved maize varieties in Southern Ethiopia: Factors and strategy options," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 442-457, October.
    21. Howard, Julie & Crawford, Eric & Kelly, Valerie & Demeke, Mulat & Jeje, Jose Jaime, 2003. "Promoting high-input maize technologies in Africa: the Sasakawa-Global 2000 experience in Ethiopia and Mozambique," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 335-348, August.
    22. John Shea, 1997. "Instrument Relevance in Multivariate Linear Models: A Simple Measure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(2), pages 348-352, May.
    23. Andre Croppenstedt & Mulat Demeke & Meloria M. Meschi, 2003. "Technology Adoption in the Presence of Constraints: the Case of Fertilizer Demand in Ethiopia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 58-70, February.
    24. Alex Winter-Nelson & Anna A. Temu, 2005. "Liquidity constraints, access to credit and pro-poor growth in rural Tanzania," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(7), pages 867-882.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hong Sun & Xiaohong Li & Wenjing Li, 2020. "The Nexus between Credit Channels and Farm Household Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Jing You & Samuel Annim, 2014. "The Impact of Microcredit on Child Education: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Rural China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(7), pages 926-948, July.
    3. Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda, 2012. "Targeted Subsidies and Private Market Participation: An Assessment of Fertilizer Demand in Nigeria:," IFPRI discussion papers 1194, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. N’Guessan, Marie Noëlle & Hartarska, Valentina, 2021. "Funding for BOP in Emerging Markets: Organizational Forms and Capital Structures of Microfinance Institutions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    5. Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O. & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2009. "Poverty status and the impact of social networks on smallholder technology adoption in rural Ethiopia," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49357, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Mathilde Maîtrot & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2017. "Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?," WIDER Working Paper Series 190, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Lambrecht, Isabel & Vanlauwe, Bernard & Merckx, Roel & Maertens, Miet, 2014. "Understanding the Process of Agricultural Technology Adoption: Mineral Fertilizer in Eastern DR Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 132-146.
    8. Asfaw, Solomon & Cattaneo, Andrea & Pallante, Giacomo & Palma, Alessandro, 2017. "Improving the efficiency targeting of Malawi's farm input subsidy programme: Big pain, small gain?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 104-118.
    9. Dibyendu Maiti & Akshara Awasthi, 2020. "ICT Exposure and the Level of Wellbeing and Progress: A Cross Country Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 311-343, January.
    10. Evans Sumabe Batung & Kamaldeen Mohammed & Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga & Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong & Isaac Luginaah, 2023. "Credit access and perceived climate change resilience of smallholder farmers in semi-arid northern Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 321-350, January.
    11. Shah Johir Rayhan & Md. Sadique Rahman & Kaiyu Lyu, 2023. "The Role of Rural Credit in Agricultural Technology Adoption: The Case of Boro Rice Farming in Bangladesh," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, November.
    12. Thanh-Tung Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2020. "Credit and Ethnic Consumption Inequality in the Central Highlands of Vietnam," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 143-172, February.
    13. Coromaldi, Manuela & Pallante, Giacomo & Savastano, Sara, 2015. "Adoption of modern varieties, farmers' welfare and crop biodiversity: Evidence from Uganda," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 346-358.
    14. Balana, B. B. & Mekonnen, D. & Haile, B. & Hagos, Fitsum & Yimam, S. & Ringler, C., 2022. "Demand and supply constraints of credit in smallholder farming: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 159:106033..
    15. Thanh-Tung Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2020. "Weather shocks, credit and production efficiency of rice farmers in Vietnam," TVSEP Working Papers wp-017, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute of Development and Agricultural Economics, Project TVSEP.
    16. Gashaw Tadesse Abate & Carlo Borzaga & Kindie Getnet, 2013. "Financial sustainability and outreach of microfinance institutions in Ethiopia: does organizational form matter?," Euricse Working Papers 1356, Euricse (European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises).
    17. You, Jing, 2014. "Risk, under-investment in agricultural assets and dynamic asset poverty in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 27-45.
    18. Akotey, Joseph Oscar & Adjasi, Charles K.D., 2016. "Does Microcredit Increase Household Welfare in the Absence of Microinsurance?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 380-394.
    19. Yongfeng Tan & Apurbo Sarkar & Airin Rahman & Lu Qian & Waqar Hussain Memon & Zharkyn Magzhan, 2021. "Does External Shock Influence Farmer’s Adoption of Modern Irrigation Technology?—A Case of Gansu Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    20. Goodman, Rachael, 2017. "Borrowing Money, Exchanging Relationships: Making Microfinance Fit into Local Lives in Kumaon, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 362-373.
    21. Mathilde Maîtrot & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa, 2017. "Poverty and wellbeing impacts of microfinance: What do we know?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-190, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Khushbu Mishra & Abdoul G. Sam & Gracious M. Diiro & Mario J. Miranda, 2020. "Gender and the dynamics of technology adoption: Empirical evidence from a household‐level panel data," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(6), pages 857-870, November.
    2. Larson, Donald F. & Gurara, Daniel Zerfu, 2013. "A conceptual model of incomplete markets and the consequences for technology adoption policies in Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6681, The World Bank.
    3. B Kelsey Jack, "undated". "Market Inefficiencies and the Adoption of Agricultural Technologies in Developing Countries," CID Working Papers 50, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    4. Sommarat Chantarat & Christopher Barrett, 2012. "Social network capital, economic mobility and poverty traps," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 10(3), pages 299-342, September.
    5. Kondylis, Florence & Mueller, Valerie, 2012. "Seeing is Believing? Evidence from a Demonstration Plot Experiment in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Michelson, Hope & Fairbairn, Anna & Ellison, Brenna & Maertens, Annemie & Manyong, Victor, 2021. "Misperceived quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    7. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2010. "Microeconomics of Technology Adoption," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 395-424, September.
    8. Mekdim D. Regassa & Mohammed B. Degnet & Mequanint B. Melesse, 2023. "Access to credit and heterogeneous effects on agricultural technology adoption: Evidence from large rural surveys in Ethiopia," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 71(2), pages 231-253, June.
    9. Abay, Kibrom A. & Berhane, Guush & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum & Koru, Bethlehem & Abay, Kibrewossen, 2016. "Understanding farmers’ technology adoption decisions: Input complementarity and heterogeneity:," ESSP working papers 82, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Lim, Krisha & Wichmann, Bruno & Luckert, Martin, 2021. "Adaptation, spatial effects, and targeting: Evidence from Africa and Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    11. Bonjean, Isabelle, 2017. "Heterogeneous Gains From Agricultural Innovation Adoption: The Role Of The Price Effect In Peru," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 260891, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Bonjean, I., 2018. "Heterogeneous return from Agricultural Innovation Adoption: The Role of the price effect," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277257, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Tesfamicheal Wossen & Thomas Berger & Salvatore Di Falco, 2015. "Social capital, risk preference and adoption of improved farm land management practices in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(1), pages 81-97, January.
    14. Ali,Rubaba & Barra,Alvaro Federico & Berg,Claudia N. & Damania,Richard & Nash,John D. & Russ,Jason Daniel, 2015. "Agricultural technology choice and transport," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7272, The World Bank.
    15. Alexander Jordan & Marco Guerzoni, 2020. "The pain of a new idea: Do Late Bloomers response to Extension Service in Rural Ethiopia?," Papers 2006.02846, arXiv.org.
    16. Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O. & Winter-Nelson, Alex, 2009. "Poverty status and the impact of social networks on smallholder technology adoption in rural Ethiopia," 2009 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, 2009, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 49357, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Terrance Hurley & Jawoo Koo & Kindie Tesfaye, 2018. "Weather risk: how does it change the yield benefits of nitrogen fertilizer and improved maize varieties in sub‐Saharan Africa?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 711-723, November.
    18. David Spielman & Kristin Davis & Martha Negash & Gezahegn Ayele, 2011. "Rural innovation systems and networks: findings from a study of Ethiopian smallholders," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(2), pages 195-212, June.
    19. Christopher B. Busch & Colin Vance, 2011. "The Diffusion of Cattle Ranching and Deforestation: Prospects for a Hollow Frontier in Mexico’s Yucatán," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(4), pages 682-698.
    20. Timothy G. Conley & Christopher R. Udry, 2010. "Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 35-69, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:4:p:541-554. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.