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Vulnerability to recurrent shocks and disparities in gendered livelihood diversification in remote areas of Nigeria

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 26, pages 2939–2949 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

New multidimensional indicators of vulnerability to disaster from external shocks were constructed using survey data covering 1750 respondents from rural Nigeria. Simple ordinary least squares and decomposition analysis were then used to examine the effect of recurrent shocks on livelihood diversification. The results elicited several findings. Although findings from the constructed vulnerability indices revealed overall high risks of disasters, females were disproportionally more vulnerable to cattle rustling. Conversely, both natural hazard-induced and cattle rustling-driven shocks have a strong negative impact on livelihood diversification. This effect is invariant regardless of the perceived gender of the respondents. Decomposition results show that recurrent shocks have moderate influences on inter-gender income disparities, as a larger proportion of the inequalities are explained by demographic characteristics. The findings point to a number of policy recommendations, most notably that the disaster prevention and management strategies should prioritise interventions that have a direct bearing on an individual’s economic, human, and social capitals.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to commend the editors and two anonymous reviewers for providing insightful and constructive comments on an earlier version of this paper.

Funding

Data collection was partly supported by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Near East University, Near East Boulevard Via Mersin 10 Turkey, 99138, Nicosia/TRNC, Cyprus

    Saifullahi Sani Ibrahim, Huseyin Ozdeser & Behiye Cavusoglu

  2. Department of Economics and Development Studies, Federal University Dutsin-ma, Dutsin-ma, Katsina State, Nigeria

    Saifullahi Sani Ibrahim

Authors
  1. Saifullahi Sani Ibrahim
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  2. Huseyin Ozdeser
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  3. Behiye Cavusoglu
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Correspondence to Saifullahi Sani Ibrahim.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Ibrahim, S.S., Ozdeser, H. & Cavusoglu, B. Vulnerability to recurrent shocks and disparities in gendered livelihood diversification in remote areas of Nigeria. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 2939–2949 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3854-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3854-5

Keywords

  • Disaster
  • Vulnerability
  • Natural hazards
  • Cattle rusting
  • Livelihood diversification

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