Employment dynamics in the rural nonfarm sector in Ethiopia Do the poor have time on their side?

Bezu, Sosina and Barrett, Christopher B. (2010): Employment dynamics in the rural nonfarm sector in Ethiopia Do the poor have time on their side?

Abstract

We study rural employment transitions in Ethiopia between farming and both low- and high-return nonfarm employment. We find that initial asset holdings and access to saving and credit are important factors for transition into high-return rural nonfarm employment and that households’ participation in high-return rural nonfarm activities is robust to their experience of health shocks. However, shocks that affect their wealth or liquidity may trigger descents into low-return nonfarm employment. On the other hand, shocks that reduce agricultural income motivate transitions into high-return rural nonfarm employment.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: rural nonfarm; income diversification; employment transitions; Ethiopia; shocks
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D13 - Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor

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