Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Financing Sustainable Development in Africa pp 269–316Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Does the Implementation of Social Safety Net Intervention Affect Indigenous Social Capital Systems for Coping with Livelihood Shocks? Ethnographic Evidence of Agro-pastoral Communities in Eastern Ethiopia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 750 Accesses

Abstract

Adverse events or shocks that trigger a decline in household welfare and consumption remain to be the main causes of household vulnerability among rural households in Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia has been trying to reduce this vulnerability and improve the resilience of the affected households through a targeted social safety net program. However, the interaction of this program with existing indigenous mutual support system is not clear, as formal efforts are not often considerate of informal arrangements. This study examined the effect of a social safety net program on local level social capital. The key questions guiding this study was: how do mutual support arrangements enhance or constrain the household’s abilities to participate, invest, reciprocate, and cooperate in mutual support networks to cope with shocks in the study communities and with what outcomes? This was mainly studied using ethnographic research design. The study was conducted in two neighborhood areas that are currently receiving formal safety net. Data were collected through qualitative in-depth interviews with 30 households and a household survey interviews with 70 households that are distributed in three major categories: beneficiaries, non-beneficiaries, and graduates of PSNP. In addition, 35 key informant interviews were conducted with mutual support group leaders and local elders. The key findings provide evidence suggesting that household’s willingness to reciprocate and cooperate in informal networks for coping with shocks seem to decline in the research site where safety net program was identified with poor targeting performance. This might be an indication that the mechanisms by which informal arrangements can be crowded out by a public safety net may depend on how well safety net is targeted and by the specific institutional and implementation practices that underpin safety net. The study recommends that better community targeting must take the precedence. While the development and provision of formal safety nets is vital in improving the risk coping and adaptation capacity of the poor, it should not result in crowding out of preexisting informal safety nets. The key question for any further insurance provision should be how it should build on existing social capital system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abdulai, A., Barrett, C. B., & Hoddinott, J. (2005). Does Food Aid Really have Disincentive Effects? New Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. World Development, 33(10), 1689–1704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, A. M., Madhavan, S., & Simon, D. (2006). Measuring Social Networks Cross Culturally. Social Networks, 28, 363–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adato, M., Ahmed, A., & Lund, F. (2004). Linking Safety Nets, Social Protection, and Poverty Reduction: Directions for Africa. (2020 Africa Conference Brief, No. 12). Washington, DC: IFPRI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N. (2003). Social Capital, Collective Action, and Adaptation to Climate Change. Journal of Economic Geography, 79(4), 387–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albarran, P., & Attanasio, O. P. (2004). Do Public Transfers Crowd Out Private Transfers? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Mexico. In S. Dercon (Ed.), Insurance Against Poverty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Alderman, H., & Paxson, C. (1992). Do the Poor Insure. A Synthesis of Literature on Risk and Consumption in Developing Countries. In A. B. Atkinson (Ed.), Economics in a Changing World. Proceedings of the Tenth World Congress of the International Economic Association (Vol. 4). Moscow.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, P., & Meyer, A. (2014). Social Capital and Community Resilience. Journal of American Behavioral Scientist, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764214550299.

  • Alem, Y., & Soderbom, M. (2012). Household-Level Consumption in Urban Ethiopia: The Effects of a Large Food Price Shock. World Development, 40(1), 146–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson, C., Alemu, M., & Stage, J. (2009). Impacts of the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia on Livestock and Tree Holdings of Rural Households. Environment and Development, Discussion paper series.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aschale, D., Dorothea, H., & Van Uffelen, G. J. (2012). Food Aid and Dependency Syndrome in Ethiopia: Local Perceptions. Journal of Humanitarian Assistance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, P., & Hammersley, M. (2007). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. New York: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Attansio, O., & Rios-Rull, J. V. (2000). Consumption Smoothing in Island Economies: Can Public Insurance Reduce Welfare? European Economic Review, 44(7), 1225–1258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, C. B. (2006). Food Aid’s Intended and Unintended Consequences (ESA Working Paper No. 06–05).

    Google Scholar 

  • Béné, C., Devereux, S., & Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2012). Shocks and Social Protection in the Horn of Africa: Analysis from the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia (IDS Working Papers No. 1–120). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2040-0209.2012.00395.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berhane, G., Hodinott, J., Kumar, N., Taffesse, S., Diresse, T., Yohannes, Y., et al. (2011). Evaluation of Ethiopia’s Food Security Program: Documenting Progress in the Implementation of the Productive Safety Net Program and the Household Asset Building Program. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute and Institute of Development Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernier, Q., & Meinzen-Dick, R. (2014). Networks for Resilience: The Role of Social Capital. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhattamishra, R., & Barrett, C. (2010). Community-Based Risk Management Arrangements: A Review. World Development, 38(7), 923–932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L., & Fox, J. (1998). The Struggle for Accountability: The World Bank, NGOs, and Grassroots Movements. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caeyers, B., & Dercon, S. (2012). Political Connections and Social Networks in Targeted Transfer Programs: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia. Journal of Economic Development and Cultural Change, 60(4), 639–675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castañeda, T., Lindert, K., De La Brière, B., Fernandez, L., Hubert, C., Larrañaga, O., et al. (2005). Designing and Implementing Household Targeting Systems: Lessons from Latin America and the United States. Washington, DC: Social Protection Unit, Human Development Network, World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, D., & Dercon, S. (2009). Insurance, Credit and Safety Nets for the Poor in a World of Risk. Economic and Social Affairs (DESA Working Paper No. 81).

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital. American Journal of Sociology, 95–120.  https://doi.org/10.1086/228943.

  • Creswell, W. J. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions. Thusand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dejene, A. (2010). The Iddir: An Informal Insurance Arrangement in Ethiopia. Journal of Saving and Development, 34(1), 53–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • del Ninno, C., & Mills, B. (2015). Safety Nets in Africa: Effective Mechanisms to Reach the Poor and Most Vulnerable. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0435-9.

  • Dercon, S. (2002). Income Risk, Coping Strategies and Safety Nets. World Bank Research Observer, 17(2), 141–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dercon, S., Hoddinott, J., & Woldehanna, T. (2005). Shocks and Consumption in 15 Ethiopian Villages 1999–2004. Journal of African Economies, 14(4), 559–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dercon, S., De Weerdt, J., Bolda, T., & Pankhurst, A. (2006). Group Based Funeral Insurance in Ethiopia and Tanzania. World Development, 34(4), 685–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dercon, S., Hill, R. V., Clarke, D., Outes-Leon, I., & Seyoum Taffesse, A. (2014). Offering Rainfall Insurance to Informal Insurance Groups: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia. Journal of Development Economics, 106, 132–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, S., Sabates-Wheeler, R., Tefera, M., & Sima, F. (2014). Graduation from Food Security Program in Ethiopia: FAC Ethiopia Final Report (Working Paper).

    Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, S., Sabates-Wheeler, R., Tefera, M., & Taye, H. (2006). Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP): Trends in PSNP Transfer Within Targeted Households (Final report). Sussex, UK: Institute of Development Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, S., Masset, E., Sabates-Wheeler, R., Samson, M., Rivas, M., & te Lintelo, Dolf. (2017). The Targeting Effectiveness of Social Transfers. Journal of Development Effectiveness, 9(2), 162–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2017.1305981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentilini, U., & Omamo, S. (2009). Unveiling Social Safety Nets. World food Programme, Occasional Number 20. World Food Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1979). Central Problems in Social Theory. Action, Structure and Contradiction in Social Analysis. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, D. O., Hoddinott, J., & Tafesse, A. S. (2009). The Impact of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program and Its Linkages. Journal of Development Studies, 45(10), 1684–1706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gittell, R., & Vidal, A. (1988). Community Organizing: Building Social Capital as a Development Strategy. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosh, M., del Ninno, C., Tesliuc, E., & Ouerghi, A. (2008). For Protection and Promotion: The Design and Implementation of Effective Safety Nets. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Habtu, K. (2012). Classifying Informal Institutions in Ethiopia (Internship paper). Wageningen: Wageningen University. Retrieved from https://nilebdc.wikispaces.com/.

  • Ha, W., Chai, J. & Alviar, C. (2010). Targeting in Kenya’s Cash Transfer Programme for OVC (Working Paper). Abidjan: African Development Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handa, S., & Davis, B. (2006). The Experience of Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America and the Caribbean (ESA Working Paper No. 06–07). Rome: FAO.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, D., Nisrane, F. B., Worku, I., Dereje, M., & Taffesse, A. S. (2012). Urban Wage Behavior and Food Price Inflation: The Case of Ethiopia. Ethiopia Strategy Support Programme II (Working Paper No. 41).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heemskerk, M., Norton, A., & de Dehn, L. (2004). Does Public Welfare Crowd Out Informal Safety Nets? Ethnographic Evidence from Rural Latin America. World Development, 32(6), 941–955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2003.11.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heffron, J. M. (2000). Beyond Community and Society: The Externalities of Social Capital Building. Policy Sciences, 33, 477–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoddinott, J., Berhane, G., Kumar, N., Taffesse, A. S., Diressie, M. T., Yohannes, Y., et al. (2011). Evaluation of Ethiopia’s Food Security Program: Documenting Progress in the Implementation of the PSNP (Productive Safety Net Program) and HABP (Household Asset Building Program). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaspars, S., & Maxwell, D. (2008). Targeting in Complex Emergencies: Somalia Country Case Study. Medford, MA: Feinstein International Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keck, M., & Sakdapolrak, P. (2013). What Is Social Resilience? Lessons Learned and the Way Forward. Erdkunde, 67(1), 5–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, D. Peter. (2008). Food Aid Dependency in Northeastern Ethiopia: Myth or Reality? World Development, 36(5), 861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, N. (2001). Development Sociology: Actor Perspective. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mathie, A., & Cunningham, G. (2005). Who is Driving Development? Reflections on the Transformative Potential of Asset-Based Community Development. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 26, 175–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Misselhorn, A. (2009). Is a Focus on Social Capital Useful in Considering Food Security Interventions? Insights from KwaZulu-Natal. Development Southern Africa, 26(2), 189–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/03768350902899454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monchuk, V. (2014). Reducing Poverty and Investing in People: The New Role of Safety Nets in Africa. Directions in Development. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0094-8.

  • Mouw, T. (2006). Estimating the Causal Effect of Social Capital: A Review of Recent Research. Annual Review of Sociology, 32(1), 79–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narayan, D. (1999). Bonds and Bridges: Social Capital and Poverty. Washington, DC: World Bank, Poverty Group, PREM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, M., & Olinto, P. (2007). Do Conditional Cash Transfers Crowd Out Private Transfers? Evidence from Randomized Trials in Honduras and Nicaragua. A World Bank Paper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigatu, R. (2011). Small Holder Farmers Coping Strategies to Household Food Insecurity and Hunger in Southern Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, 4(1), 39–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pankhurst, A., & Damen, H. (2000). The Iddir in Ethiopia: Historical Development, Social Function, and Potential Role in HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. Journal of Northeast African Studies, 7(2), 35–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrikova, I., & Chadha, D. (2013). The Role of Social Capital in Risk-Sharing: Lessons from Andhra Pradesh. Journal of South Asian Development, 8(3), 359–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, C. (2012). Shocks, Consumption and Income Diversification in Rural Ethiopia. Journal of Development Studies, 48(9): 1209–1222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, C., & Hill, R. (2015). Shocks, Safety-Nets and Vulnerability to Poverty in Ethiopia. Paper presented at CSAE Conference, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A. (1998). Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. (1993). The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life. The American Prospect. Retrieved from http://www.philia.ca/files/pdf/ProsperousCommunity.pdf.

  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster. https://doi.org/10.1145/358916.361990.

  • Rapsomanikis, G. (2015). The Economic Lives of Smallholder Farmers: An Analysis Based on Household Data from Nine Countries. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheffran, J., Marmer, E., & Sow, P. (2012). Migration as a Contribution to Resilience and Innovation in Climate Adaptation: Social Networks and Co-development in Northwest Africa. Journal of Applied Geography, 33, 119–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semalegne, M., Meshelemiah, J. C. A., & Kasaw, C. (2015). Asset-Based Community Development Practice in Awramba, Northwest Ethiopia. Community Development, 46(2), 164–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sengupta, A. (2012). Pathways out of Productive Safety Net Programme: Lessons from Graduation Pilot in Ethiopia (Working Paper). Retrieved from http://graduation.cgap.org/pilots/ethiopia-graduation-pilot/.

  • Slater, R., & Mphale, M. (2008). Cash Transfers, Gender and Generational Relations: Evidence from a Pilot Project in Lesotho. A report commissioned by World Vision International. London: Humanitarian Policy Group Overseas Development Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sulaiman, M. (2010). Incentive and Crowding Out Effects of Food Assistance: Evidence from Randomized Evaluation of Food-for-Training Project in Southern Sudan. London School of Economics and BRAC. EOPP/2010/19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolcock, M. (1998). Social Capital and Economic Development: Toward a Theoretical Synthesis and Policy Framework. Journal of Theory and Society, 27(2), 151–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woolcock, M. (2000). Using Social Capital: Getting the Social Relations Right in the Theory and Practice of Economic Development. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolcock, M., & Narayan, D. (2000). Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy. World Bank Research Observer, 15(2), 225–249. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/15.2.225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2012). Designing and Implementing a Rural Safety Net in a Low Income Setting: Lessons Learned from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme 2005–2009. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2013). Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). Integrating Disaster and Climate Risk Management. Ethiopia, PSNP Case Study.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2015). The State of Social Safety Nets 2015. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0543-1.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Zenebe, A.,  & Kessler, A. (2015). Impact of the Productive Safety Net Program on Farmers’ Investments in Sustainable Land Management in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Environmental Development, 16, 54–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Extension and Innovation Studies, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Getachew Shambel Endris, Paul Kibwika & Bernard B. Obaa

  2. Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

    Jemal Yousuf Hassan

Authors
  1. Getachew Shambel Endris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul Kibwika
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bernard B. Obaa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jemal Yousuf Hassan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

    Uchenna R. Efobi

  2. African Governance and Development Institute, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Simplice Asongu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Endris, G.S., Kibwika, P., Obaa, B.B., Hassan, J.Y. (2018). Does the Implementation of Social Safety Net Intervention Affect Indigenous Social Capital Systems for Coping with Livelihood Shocks? Ethnographic Evidence of Agro-pastoral Communities in Eastern Ethiopia. In: Efobi, U., Asongu, S. (eds) Financing Sustainable Development in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78843-2_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78843-2_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78842-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78843-2

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation