Drought Shocks and Labor Reallocation in Rural AfricaEvidence from Ethiopia
Drought Shocks and Labor Reallocation in Rural Africa
Evidence from Ethiopia
View/Date of Publication
10.2023Publisher
Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of BonnPublisher Location
BonnMetadata
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Citable Link (Handle URI) 
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/12019
Abstract
We study how rural households in Ethiopia adapt to droughts through labor reallocation. By using three waves of panel data and exploiting spatial-temporal variations in drought exposure, we find that households reduce on-farm work and increase off-farm self-employment in response to both short-term and persistent droughts, without abandoning family farming. Diversification into off-farm activities is driven by drought-related productivity declines in agriculture and contributes to consumption smoothing. Households with better access to markets and financial services find it easier to reallocate labor off-farm. Our results highlight the importance of strengthening the rural non-farm economy to enhance rural households’ climate resilience.
Subjects
Climate change, labor allocation, labor markets, Africa, Ethiopia
Classification (DDC)
300 Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie 320 Politik 330 WirtschaftFirst Publication
https://www.zef.de/fileadmin/webfiles/downloads/zef_dp/ZEF_DP_334.pdfPart of Series
ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy ; 334Musungu, Arnold L.; Kubik, Zaneta; Qaim, Matin: Drought Shocks and Labor Reallocation in Rural Africa : Evidence from Ethiopia. Bonn: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, 2023. In: ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy, 334.
Online-Ausgabe in bonndoc: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/12019
Online-Ausgabe in bonndoc: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/12019
@techreport{handle:20.500.11811/12019,
author = {{Arnold L. Musungu} and {Zaneta Kubik} and {Matin Qaim}},
title = {Drought Shocks and Labor Reallocation in Rural Africa : Evidence from Ethiopia},
publisher = {Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn},
year = 2023,
month = oct,
series = {ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy},
volume = 334,
note = {We study how rural households in Ethiopia adapt to droughts through labor reallocation. By using three waves of panel data and exploiting spatial-temporal variations in drought exposure, we find that households reduce on-farm work and increase off-farm self-employment in response to both short-term and persistent droughts, without abandoning family farming. Diversification into off-farm activities is driven by drought-related productivity declines in agriculture and contributes to consumption smoothing. Households with better access to markets and financial services find it easier to reallocate labor off-farm. Our results highlight the importance of strengthening the rural non-farm economy to enhance rural households’ climate resilience.},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/12019}
}
author = {{Arnold L. Musungu} and {Zaneta Kubik} and {Matin Qaim}},
title = {Drought Shocks and Labor Reallocation in Rural Africa : Evidence from Ethiopia},
publisher = {Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn},
year = 2023,
month = oct,
series = {ZEF-Discussion Papers on Development Policy},
volume = 334,
note = {We study how rural households in Ethiopia adapt to droughts through labor reallocation. By using three waves of panel data and exploiting spatial-temporal variations in drought exposure, we find that households reduce on-farm work and increase off-farm self-employment in response to both short-term and persistent droughts, without abandoning family farming. Diversification into off-farm activities is driven by drought-related productivity declines in agriculture and contributes to consumption smoothing. Households with better access to markets and financial services find it easier to reallocate labor off-farm. Our results highlight the importance of strengthening the rural non-farm economy to enhance rural households’ climate resilience.},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/12019}
}
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