Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia

Ethiopia recently experienced a large-scale war that lasted for more than two years. Using unique High-Frequency Phone Survey (HFPS) data, which span several months before and after the outbreak of the war, this paper provides evidence on the immediate impacts of the conflict on households’ food sec...

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Main Authors: Abay, Kibrom A., Tafere, Kibrom, Berhane, Guush, Chamberlin, Jordan, Abay, Mehari Hiluf
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131974
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author Abay, Kibrom A.
Tafere, Kibrom
Berhane, Guush
Chamberlin, Jordan
Abay, Mehari Hiluf
author_browse Abay, Kibrom A.
Abay, Mehari Hiluf
Berhane, Guush
Chamberlin, Jordan
Tafere, Kibrom
author_facet Abay, Kibrom A.
Tafere, Kibrom
Berhane, Guush
Chamberlin, Jordan
Abay, Mehari Hiluf
author_sort Abay, Kibrom A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Ethiopia recently experienced a large-scale war that lasted for more than two years. Using unique High-Frequency Phone Survey (HFPS) data, which span several months before and after the outbreak of the war, this paper provides evidence on the immediate impacts of the conflict on households’ food security. We also assess potential mechanisms and evaluate impacts on proximate outcomes, including on livelihood activities and access to food markets. We use difference-in-differences and two-way fixed effects estimation to compare trends across affected and unaffected regions (households) and before and after the outbreak of the war. Seven months into the conflict, we find that the war was associated with a 37 percentage points increase in the probability of moderate to severe food insecurity. Using the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), we show that exposure to an additional battle leads to a 1 percentage point increase in the probability of moderate or severe food insecurity. The conflict was associated with significant reduction in access to food through supply chain disruptions and by curtailing non-farm livelihood activities. Non-farm and wage related activities were affected the most, whereas farming activities were relatively more resilient. Our estimates, which likely underestimate the true average effects on the population, constitute novel evidence on the near-real-time impacts of large-scale conflict. Our work highlights the potential of HFPS to monitor active and large-scale conflicts, especially in contexts where conventional data sources are not immediately available.
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spelling CGSpace1319742025-10-26T12:55:49Z Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia Abay, Kibrom A. Tafere, Kibrom Berhane, Guush Chamberlin, Jordan Abay, Mehari Hiluf armed conflicts food access food security households livelihoods resilience supply chain disruptions surveys war welfare Ethiopia recently experienced a large-scale war that lasted for more than two years. Using unique High-Frequency Phone Survey (HFPS) data, which span several months before and after the outbreak of the war, this paper provides evidence on the immediate impacts of the conflict on households’ food security. We also assess potential mechanisms and evaluate impacts on proximate outcomes, including on livelihood activities and access to food markets. We use difference-in-differences and two-way fixed effects estimation to compare trends across affected and unaffected regions (households) and before and after the outbreak of the war. Seven months into the conflict, we find that the war was associated with a 37 percentage points increase in the probability of moderate to severe food insecurity. Using the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), we show that exposure to an additional battle leads to a 1 percentage point increase in the probability of moderate or severe food insecurity. The conflict was associated with significant reduction in access to food through supply chain disruptions and by curtailing non-farm livelihood activities. Non-farm and wage related activities were affected the most, whereas farming activities were relatively more resilient. Our estimates, which likely underestimate the true average effects on the population, constitute novel evidence on the near-real-time impacts of large-scale conflict. Our work highlights the potential of HFPS to monitor active and large-scale conflicts, especially in contexts where conventional data sources are not immediately available. 2023-08 2023-09-22T17:59:34Z 2023-09-22T17:59:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131974 en Open Access Elsevier Abay, Kibrom A.; Tafere, Kibrom; Berhane, Guush; Chamberlin, Jordan; and Abay, Mehari H. 2023. Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia. Food Policy 119(August 2023): 102526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102526
spellingShingle armed conflicts
food access
food security
households
livelihoods
resilience
supply chain disruptions
surveys
war
welfare
Abay, Kibrom A.
Tafere, Kibrom
Berhane, Guush
Chamberlin, Jordan
Abay, Mehari Hiluf
Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia
title Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_full Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_fullStr Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_short Near-real-time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war: Evidence from Ethiopia
title_sort near real time welfare and livelihood impacts of an active war evidence from ethiopia
topic armed conflicts
food access
food security
households
livelihoods
resilience
supply chain disruptions
surveys
war
welfare
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131974
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