Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia
On the back of both a global food crisis and various domestic factors, Ethiopia has experienced one of the world’s fastest rates of food inflation in recent years. Yet the lack of high frequency survey data means that very little is known about the welfare impacts of these price changes. This study...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Artículo preliminar |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
International Food Policy Research Institute
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153897 |
| _version_ | 1855541682718638080 |
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| author | Headey, Derek D. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane Worku, Ibrahim Dereje, Mekdim Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| author_browse | Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane Dereje, Mekdim Headey, Derek D. Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum Worku, Ibrahim |
| author_facet | Headey, Derek D. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane Worku, Ibrahim Dereje, Mekdim Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum |
| author_sort | Headey, Derek D. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | On the back of both a global food crisis and various domestic factors, Ethiopia has experienced one of the world’s fastest rates of food inflation in recent years. Yet the lack of high frequency survey data means that very little is known about the welfare impacts of these price changes. This study attempts to fill that knowledge gap using a unique monthly series of casual wages from 119 locations in both Ethiopian cities and rural towns. We use this data for two types of analysis. First, we construct a set of “poor person’s price indices” which we then use to deflate the daily laborer wage series in an effort to gauge the welfare trends among the urban poor. Second, we conduct formal econometric tests of whether changes in nominal wages respond to changes in food and non-food prices. We find alarming results. The disposable income of daily laborer’s declined sharply as food prices soared in 2007–2008, and there is neither descriptive nor econometric evidence that wages substantially adjust to higher food prices, except in the long run. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace153897 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1538972025-11-06T07:15:28Z Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia Headey, Derek D. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane Worku, Ibrahim Dereje, Mekdim Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum poverty inflation (finance) urban areas economics urban poverty remuneration food prices On the back of both a global food crisis and various domestic factors, Ethiopia has experienced one of the world’s fastest rates of food inflation in recent years. Yet the lack of high frequency survey data means that very little is known about the welfare impacts of these price changes. This study attempts to fill that knowledge gap using a unique monthly series of casual wages from 119 locations in both Ethiopian cities and rural towns. We use this data for two types of analysis. First, we construct a set of “poor person’s price indices” which we then use to deflate the daily laborer wage series in an effort to gauge the welfare trends among the urban poor. Second, we conduct formal econometric tests of whether changes in nominal wages respond to changes in food and non-food prices. We find alarming results. The disposable income of daily laborer’s declined sharply as food prices soared in 2007–2008, and there is neither descriptive nor econometric evidence that wages substantially adjust to higher food prices, except in the long run. 2012 2024-10-01T13:58:15Z 2024-10-01T13:58:15Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153897 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Ethiopian Development Research Institute Headey, Derek D.; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Worku, Ibrahim; Dereje, Mekdim; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum 2012. Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 41. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153897 |
| spellingShingle | poverty inflation (finance) urban areas economics urban poverty remuneration food prices Headey, Derek D. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane Worku, Ibrahim Dereje, Mekdim Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia |
| title | Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia |
| title_full | Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia |
| title_short | Urban wage behavior and food price inflation: the case of Ethiopia |
| title_sort | urban wage behavior and food price inflation the case of ethiopia |
| topic | poverty inflation (finance) urban areas economics urban poverty remuneration food prices |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/153897 |
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