TEMPORAL SHIFTS AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO HOUSEHOLD WELFARE DISPARITIES IN CENTRAL ETHIOPIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENSET-CULTIVATING AND NON-CULTIVATING HOUSEHOLDS USING EXPENDITURE AND ASSET METRICS
Keywords:
Welfare inequality, Enset (Ensete ventricosum), Household welfare, Consumption expenditureAbstract
This study examines the intertemporal dynamics and determinants of welfare inequality among enset-producing and non-producing households in Central Ethiopia, utilizing per capita consumption expenditure and asset value as primary welfare indicators. Understanding these disparities is crucial for effective poverty reduction strategies in a country that has seen significant economic growth but still grapples with equitable distribution [85, 88]. Employing panel data regression models, including quantile regression for nuanced analysis, the research categorizes households based on their enset cultivation status. Our findings reveal that overall welfare inequality in rural Central Ethiopia has shown a slight increase over time [12, 61, 82]. However, enset-producing households exhibit remarkable stability in their welfare distribution, particularly in consumption expenditure and asset accumulation [17, 62]. This resilience is largely attributed to enset's role as a perennial, drought-resistant staple crop, providing a consistent buffer against climate shocks and market volatility [18, 62]. Conversely, non-producing households experienced a more pronounced widening of welfare disparities, indicating greater vulnerability to external shocks [30, 31, 36, 77]. Key determinants of household welfare identified across both groups include education levels, access to markets, non-farm income diversification, and remittances [1, 2, 8, 39, 44, 47]. Notably, enset production significantly moderates the negative impacts of climate shocks on household welfare. Quantile regression further demonstrates that factors like education and agricultural extension services have a disproportionately larger positive impact on lower-welfare households [5, 8]. These insights highlight the critical role of enset in fostering resilience and equity, suggesting that policies promoting sustainable enset cultivation, rural education, infrastructure development, and targeted social protection for vulnerable non-enset producing households are vital for achieving more inclusive development in Ethiopia.
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