Document Type
Honors Project - Open Access
Abstract
This paper studies the effects of food crises–large and sudden increases in food prices–on asset liquidation. Substantial research exists on household food insecurity as a result of a food crisis, but studies on households’ coping strategies have so far been limited to natural shocks such as flood, drought, and financial crises. In this paper, I use an adapted version of the asset-based poverty trap model to explain households’ use of asset liquidation as a coping strategy when faced with food crises. To test my theory, I employ a household-level panel data set from Tanzania that covers the years 2008, 2010, and 2012. I estimate fixed effects regressions of productive and unproductive asset levels on a measure of household-specific food prices. I find no statistically significant evidence in support of asset liquidation. My results suggest an asset smoothing behavior across all types of households.
Recommended Citation
Dieye, Ibrahima, "Food Crises and Asset Liquidation: Household-level Evidence from Tanzania" (2017). Economics Honors Projects. 76.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/economics_honors_projects/76
Included in
© Copyright is owned by author of this document
