IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/iaae18/277441.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Dynamics of rural livelihoods and rainfall variability in Northern Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Adamseged, M.E.
  • Frija, A.
  • Thiel, A.

Abstract

This study examines the association of livelihood dynamics of rural households in Ethiopia with rainfall conditions and socio-economic characteristics, using a 15-year panel data set. We employed fixed and random-effect conditional logit models to explain household decision-making processes regarding livelihood strategies. Our finding shows that participation of rural households in non-farm livelihoods has been increasing over the years but with great fluctuations. We also found that rainfall conditions during the main rainy season negatively and significantly affect household decisions to pursue non-farm livelihoods. The motivation of farm households to diversify into non-farm livelihoods is mainly driven by low-performance farming outcomes as well as demographic characteristics (specifically adult household size, human capital and education) and degree of access to financial schemes. These findings suggest policy implications for increasing access to financial schemes and improving household-member skills through vocational training and education to enable them to engage in high-return and profitable non-farm livelihoods. Acknowledgement :

Suggested Citation

  • Adamseged, M.E. & Frija, A. & Thiel, A., 2018. "Dynamics of rural livelihoods and rainfall variability in Northern Ethiopia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277441, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae18:277441
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.277441
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/277441/files/546.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.277441?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abera Demeke & Alwin Keil & Manfred Zeller, 2011. "Using panel data to estimate the effect of rainfall shocks on smallholders food security and vulnerability in rural Ethiopia," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 185-206, September.
    2. Bezu, Sosina & Barrett, Christopher B. & Holden, Stein T., 2012. "Does the Nonfarm Economy Offer Pathways for Upward Mobility? Evidence from a Panel Data Study in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1634-1646.
    3. Martin, Sarah M. & Lorenzen, Kai, 2016. "Livelihood Diversification in Rural Laos," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 231-243.
    4. Woldenhanna, T. & Oskam, A., 2001. "Income diversification and entry barriers: evidence from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 351-365, August.
    5. Reardon, Thomas, 1997. "Using evidence of household income diversification to inform study of the rural nonfarm labor market in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 735-747, May.
    6. Gray, Clark & Mueller, Valerie, 2012. "Drought and Population Mobility in Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 134-145.
    7. Abebaw, Degnet & Kassa, Habtemariam & Kassie, Girma T. & Lemenih, Mulugeta & Campbell, Bruce & Teka, Worku, 2012. "Dry forest based livelihoods in resettlement areas of Northwestern Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 72-77.
    8. Thiede, Brian C., 2014. "Rainfall Shocks and Within-Community Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 181-193.
    9. Bezu, Sosina & Holden, Stein, 2014. "Are Rural Youth in Ethiopia Abandoning Agriculture?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 259-272.
    10. van den Berg, Marrit, 2010. "Household income strategies and natural disasters: Dynamic livelihoods in rural Nicaragua," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 592-602, January.
    11. Adugna Lemi, "undated". "The Dynamics of Income Diversification in Ethiopia: Evidence from Panel data," Working Papers 3, University of Massachusetts Boston, Economics Department.
    12. Josphat Mushongah & Ian Scoones, 2012. "Livelihood Change in Rural Zimbabwe over 20 Years," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(9), pages 1241-1257, September.
    13. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    14. Lanjouw, Jean O. & Lanjouw, Peter, 2001. "The rural non-farm sector: issues and evidence from developing countries," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-23, October.
    15. Ellis, Frank, 2000. "Rural Livelihoods and Diversity in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296966.
    16. Tesfaye, Yemiru & Roos, Anders & Campbell, Bruce M. & Bohlin, Folke, 2011. "Livelihood strategies and the role of forest income in participatory-managed forests of Dodola area in the bale highlands, southern Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 258-265, April.
    17. Aklilu, H.A. & Udo, H.M.J. & Almekinders, C.J.M. & Van der Zijpp, A.J., 2008. "How resource poor households value and access poultry: Village poultry keeping in Tigray, Ethiopia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 96(1-3), pages 175-183, March.
    18. Oecd, 2009. "Climate Change and Africa," OECD Journal: General Papers, OECD Publishing, vol. 2009(1), pages 5-35.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Bezu, Sosina & Holden, Stein, 2014. "Are Rural Youth in Ethiopia Abandoning Agriculture?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 259-272.
    2. Misganaw Teshager Abeje & Atsushi Tsunekawa & Enyew Adgo & Nigussie Haregeweyn & Zerihun Nigussie & Zemen Ayalew & Asres Elias & Dessalegn Molla & Daregot Berihun, 2019. "Exploring Drivers of Livelihood Diversification and Its Effect on Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, May.
    3. Jiao, Xi & Pouliot, Mariève & Walelign, Solomon Zena, 2017. "Livelihood Strategies and Dynamics in Rural Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 266-278.
    4. Shanta Paudel Khatiwada & Wei Deng & Bikash Paudel & Janak Raj Khatiwada & Jifei Zhang & Yi Su, 2017. "Household Livelihood Strategies and Implication for Poverty Reduction in Rural Areas of Central Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Adugna, Lemi, 2009. "Determinants of Income Diversification in Rural Ethiopia: evidence From Panel Data," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 18(1), pages 116-116, December.
    6. Jan Fałkowski & Maciej Jakubowski & Paweł Strawiński, 2014. "Returns from income strategies in rural Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 139-178, January.
    7. Marwan Benali & Bernhard Brümmer & Victor Afari‐Sefa, 2018. "Smallholder participation in vegetable exports and age‐disaggregated labor allocation in Northern Tanzania," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 549-562, September.
    8. Riithi, Alexander Njuguna & Irungu, Patrick & Munei , Kimpei, 2015. "Determinants Of Choice Of Alternative Livelihood Diversification Strategies In Solio Resettlement Scheme, Kenya," Dissertations and Theses 269714, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    9. 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.
    10. Bekele Gebisa Etea & Deyi Zhou & Kidane Assefa Abebe & Dessalegn Anshiso Sedebo, 2020. "Is income diversification a means of survival or accumulation? Evidence from rural and semi-urban households in Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5751-5769, August.
    11. Adugna Lemi, "undated". "The Dynamics of Income Diversification in Ethiopia: Evidence from Panel data," Working Papers 3, University of Massachusetts Boston, Economics Department.
    12. Vellema, W. & Buritica Casanova, A. & Gonzalez, C. & D’Haese, M., 2015. "The effect of specialty coffee certification on household livelihood strategies and specialisation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 13-25.
    13. Bethuel Kinuthia & Abdelkrim Araar & Laura Barasa & Stephene Maende & Faith Mariera, 2019. "Off-Farm Participation, Agricultural Production and Farmers’ Welfare in Tanzania and Uganda," Working Papers PMMA 2019-01, PEP-PMMA.
    14. Asfaw, Solomon & Scognamillo, Antonio & Caprera, Gloria Di & Sitko, Nicholas & Ignaciuk, Adriana, 2019. "Heterogeneous impact of livelihood diversification on household welfare: Cross-country evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 278-295.
    15. Schmidt, Emily & Woldeyes, Firew Bekele, 2019. "Rural youth and employment in Ethiopia," IFPRI book chapters, in: Youth and jobs in rural Africa: Beyond stylized facts, chapter 5, pages yj109-136, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Solomon Zena Walelign & Mariève Pouliot & Helle Overgaard Larsen & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2015. "A novel approach to dynamic livelihood clustering: Empirical evidence from Nepal," IFRO Working Paper 2015/09, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    17. Riithi, A.N. & Maina, J.M., 2015. "Determinants of Participation in the Nonfarm Sector in a Conflict-Based Resettlement Scheme," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212694, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Helmy, Imane, 2020. "Livelihood Diversification Strategies: Resisting Vulnerability in Egypt," GLO Discussion Paper Series 441, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    19. Taruvinga, Amon & Mushunje, Abbyssinia, 2012. "Buffer zone income dynamics for the sub-district producer community: Implications for rural off-farm income, income inequality and the development of household agriculture," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126377, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Asfaw, Solomon & McCarthy, Nancy & Paolantonio, Adriana & Cavatassi, Romina & Amare, Mulubrhan & Lipper, Leslie, 2015. "Diversification, Climate Risk and Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence from Rural Malawi," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 230216, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Consumer/Household Economics;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ags:iaae18:277441. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iaaeeea.html .

    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.