Poor people often do not make investments, even when returns are high. One possible explanation is that they have low aspirations and form mental models which ignore some options for investment. This paper reports on findings of an innovative experiment to test this in rural Ethiopia. Firstly,...

This paper presents a simple model of an Ethiopian farn household which captures three important aspects of the policy regime characterising the Derg period. These aspects are compulsory grain delivery, rationing in manufactured consumer goods, and rationing in modern farn inputs. The model...

An intertemporal acreage allocation model that allows for the impact of compulsory grain delivery is developed. Subsequently, an estimable dynamic acreage demand equation is derived, and estimated for a crop using region-level data. Generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators for dynamic...

Fatalism is considered pervaisve, not leaste within many poor communities. In this paper, we explore whether 'fatalistic' beliefs have implications for the attitudes and behaviour of poor rural households towards investment in the future. We first explore the idea of fatalos, drawing inspiration...

This paper investigates whether public investments that led to improvements in road quality and increased access to agricultural extension services led to faster consumption growth and lower rates of poverty in rural Ethiopia. Using a Generalized Methods of Moments . Instrumental Variables....

This study examines the consequences of alternative relief and development interventions on the well being of households in rural Zimbabwe. It does so by: a) establishing a framework that links household resources to levels of poverty; b) validating the quantitative data with group wealth...

This paper examines income dynamics for a panel of households resettled on former white-owned farms in the aftermath of Zimbabwe's independence. There are four core findings: (i) there has been an impressive accumulation of assets by these households; (ii) while this accumulation has played a...