Assets, Shocks, and Poverty Traps in Rural Mozambique

Lena Giesbert and Kati Schindler
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Kati Kraehnert

World Development, 2012, vol. 40, issue 8, 1594-1609

Abstract: This paper explores welfare dynamics among households in rural Mozambique. Using household panel data, we test whether an asset-based poverty trap exists. Findings indicate that all rural households converge to one stable equilibrium in the medium term, which is close to the poverty line. This may indicate that households in rural Mozambique are collectively trapped in generalized underdevelopment. A drought and household coping strategies help to explain the observed poverty dynamics. Food-insecure households who have better access to income-generating opportunities and who can afford drawing on unproductive assets are able to sustain their productive asset base in the short term.

Keywords: assets; poverty trap; shocks; Africa; Mozambique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Assets, Shocks, and Poverty Traps in Rural Mozambique (2010)
Working Paper: Assets, Shocks, and Poverty Traps in Rural Mozambique (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:40:y:2012:i:8:p:1594-1609

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.04.002

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