To Specialize or Diversify: Agricultural Diversity and Poverty Persistence in Ethiopia

Anna Josephson and Jeffrey Michler

No 212459, 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy from International Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: This article answers the empirical question: what is the relationship between the choice to specialize or diversify in crop production and household poverty status? We use household panel data from Ethiopia and a recently developed parametric method for estimating dynamic binary response models with endogenous contemporaneous regres- sors. Our results provide evidence that households which grow a diverse set of crops are less likely to be poor. Additionally, crop diversity reduces the probability that a house- hold will fall into poverty and reduces the probability that a household will remain in poverty. We conclude that policies which encourage households to specialize in cash crops may be counter-productive while policies which encourage crop diversification may reduce poverty.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Security and Poverty; International Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30
Date: 2015
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-pke
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:iaae15:212459

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.212459

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