Empirical Regularities in the Poverty-Environmenr Relationship of African Rural Household

W. Cavendish

Working Papers Series from Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford

Abstract: Analysis of rural households and environmental resources is beset by inadequate data, especially in Africa. Using purpose-collected panel data from Zimbabwe, we demonstrate seven empirical regularities in the rural poverty-environment relationship. Most importantly, environmental resources make a significant contribution to average rural incomes. Poorer households also depend heavily on these resources, which contribute c.40 percent to their incomes. However richer household use greater quantities of environmental resources in total. Finally, considerable differentiation exists in the economic characteristics of environmental goods. These results demonstrate the considerable economic significance of environmental resources to rural households. Surveys which ignore them miscalculate rural incomes and welfare.

Keywords: POVERTY; RURAL ECONOMY; HOUSEHOLDS; ENVIRONMENT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C81 D12 O13 Q20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fth:oxesaf:99-21

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
Publications Office Centre for the Study of African Economies Institute of Economics and Statistics University of Oxford St Cross Building Manor Road Oxford OX1 3UL
http://users.ox.ac.u ... s/workingp/main.html

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers Series from Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford
Address: Centre for the Study of African Economies Institute of Economics and Statistics University of Oxford St. Cross Building, Manor Road Oxford, OX1 3UL, UK.
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by Thomas Krichel ().