Analysis of the Household Economy and Expenditure Patterns of a Traditional Pastoralist Society in Southern Ethiopia

Some key features of the Borana household economy are explored in the changing context of growing pastoralist exposure to the exchange system. Despite past commercialization efforts, the pastoral economy has largely remained unmonetized. The average cattle off-take rate is found to be well below 10% for the sample Borana households of which only 11% of the household off-take decisions were made for the primary purpose of financing non-pastoral business. Such decisions are largely made by the actual conditions of life principally associated with the need to procure cereal grains and meeting other basic needs. The analysis of household expenditure patterns reveals income diversity as a key determinant of the growing importance of "imported" items in pastoral household budgets. The apparent elastic demand for stimulants in this connection is a critical matter for local actions in the context of eroding traditional values.