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Weather and Welfare in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Foltz, Jeremy D.
  • Gars, Jared
  • Özdoğan, Mutlu
  • Simane, Belay
  • Zaitchik, Ben

Abstract

Long term increases in rural incomes and productivity in Ethiopia are threatened by weather fluctuations. Changes in weather variability and the number of extreme weather events (specifically droughts) has the capacity to undermine development efforts if it translates into decreased food availability and incomes. This study integrates downscaled daily weather data with household surveys to study the impact of weather and temperature on rural household welfare in Ethiopia. Our panel data econometric approach is one of the first to measure the impacts of weather on household consumption directly. Generally, we find that food and non-food consumption are a function of weather in Ethiopia, and that this link is lessening over time but more pronounced for poor households. Evidence from these survey villages suggests that being in a vulnerable area may not actually result in being worse off relative to being poor in a non vulnerable area. These findings have implications for focusing climate mitigation strategies on the poor regardless of location rather than just the poorest regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Foltz, Jeremy D. & Gars, Jared & Özdoğan, Mutlu & Simane, Belay & Zaitchik, Ben, 2013. "Weather and Welfare in Ethiopia," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150298, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea13:150298
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.150298
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    Cited by:

    1. Karim, Azreen & Noy, Ilan, 2014. "Poverty and natural disasters: A meta-analysis," Working Paper Series 3234, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    2. Karim, Azreen, 2016. "The household response to persistent natural disasters: Evidence from Bangladesh," Working Paper Series 4968, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    3. Azreen Karim & Ilan Noy, 2016. "Poverty And Natural Disasters — A Qualitative Survey Of The Empirical Literature," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(01), pages 1-36, March.
    4. Noy, Ilan & Karim, Azreen, 2013. "Poverty, inequality and natural disasters – A survey," Working Paper Series 2974, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    5. Azreen Karim & Ilan Noy, 2016. "Poverty and Natural Disasters: A Meta-Regression Analysis," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 7(2).
    6. De Silva, M.M.G.T. & Kawasaki, Akiyuki, 2018. "Socioeconomic Vulnerability to Disaster Risk: A Case Study of Flood and Drought Impact in a Rural Sri Lankan Community," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 131-140.
    7. Belete, Belainew & Melak, Surafel, 2018. "Impacts of Small-Scale Irrigation Technology on the Nutritional Wellbeing of Children in the Amhara National Region of Ethiopia," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 27(01), April.
    8. Karim, Azreen, 2018. "The Household Response to Persistent Natural Disasters: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 40-59.

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    Keywords

    Consumer/Household Economics; International Development;

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