CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Anderson, Shawna Leanne |
|---|---|
| Title | Exploring the Impact of Income Diversification and Safety Nets on Household Resilience to Climate Change in Malawi |
| Summary | Malawi is increasingly plagued by extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, floods, and irregular rains. As the effects of worsening climate change intensify, the country’s most vulnerable households which rely on subsistence farming will be severely impacted. The effect that income diversification can have on the Malawi economy is crucial to understand since the economy is so deeply dependent on agricultural production. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the differences between rural Malawian farming households at varying levels of the wealth distribution and determine how these households are impacted by diversification strategies and climatic weather shocks. Using quantitative methods, this paper utilizes 2013 LSMS Integrated Household Panel Survey data, combined with disaster data from the EM-DAT International Disaster Database to study household consumption levels impacted by extended droughts or floods. The results of this study indicate that when linked with safety nets and distance to nearest agricultural markets, outcomes of diversification and consumption are significantly higher. These findings suggest that improved access to social safety nets can help households further adopt diversification strategies and reduce poverty rates. Keywords: Malawi, diversification, rural, climate change, disasters, weather shocks, safety nets, social protection, poverty, crop diversification |
| Supervisor | Cristina Corduneanu-Huci |
| Department | School of Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/anderson_shawna.pdf |
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