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Poverty Traps and Natural Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Development ((PSD))

Abstract

Ato Mohammed, 55 and illiterate, lives in the Bati district of South Wollo Zone (Ethiopia) and heads a household of nine. He has been chronically food insecure for more than ten years, when he lost his single ox because of drought. He sold the animal to buy food at the time and has not been able to acquire another. Currently, Mohammed holds one hectare of farmland and has no grazing land. Since he owns no oxen, he has been leasing out his land for share-cropping on a 50/50 sharing arrangement. Mohammed and his family members are engaged in various types of daily labour activities for cash and food, and the household is a regular recipient of food aid.

This publication was made possible by support provided in part by the World Bank and by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Agreement No. LAG-A-00-96-90016-00 through BASIS Collaborative Research Support Program. Rob White and Francisco Galarza provided valuable research assistance. Helpful comments were received from anonymous referees of this journal, as well as by seminar participants at the 2005 ASSA meetings, the World Bank, the University of Manchester’s Social Protection Conference and the University of Wisconsin. All views, interpretations, recommendations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the supporting or collaborating institutions.

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© 2008 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Carter, M.R., Little, P.D., Mogues, T., Negatu, W. (2008). Poverty Traps and Natural Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras. In: Barrientos, A., Hulme, D. (eds) Social Protection for the Poor and Poorest. Palgrave Studies in Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-0-230-58309-2_5

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