Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Debebe, Z.Y.
Author-Name-Last: Debebe
Author-Name-First: Zelalem Yilma
Author-Person: pde611
Author-Name: Mebratie, A.D.
Author-Name-Last: Mebratie
Author-Name-First: Anagaw
Author-Name: Sparrow, R.A.
Author-Name-Last: Sparrow
Author-Name-First: Robert
Author-Person: psp22
Author-Name: Dekker, M.
Author-Name-Last: Dekker
Author-Name-First: Marleen
Author-Name: Alemu, G.
Author-Name-Last: Alemu
Author-Name-First: Getnet
Author-Name: Bedi, A.S.
Author-Name-Last: Bedi
Author-Name-First: Arjun Singh
Author-Person: pbe710
Title: Channels of impoverishment due to ill-health in rural Ethiopia
Abstract: We analyse the effects of ill-health on household economic outcomes in Ethiopia, using three years of household panel data and event history interviews. We examine the immediate effects of a variety of ill-health measures on health expenditure and labour supply, the subsequent household coping responses, and finally the effect on household income and consumption. We find evidence of substantial economic risk in terms of increased health expenditure and reduced agricultural productivity. Households cope by resorting to intra-household labour substitution, hiring wage labour, borrowing and depleting assets. While households are able to maintain food consumption, we observe imperfect insurance of non-food consumption. This effect is larger for households with the lowest ability to self-insure. Maintaining current consumption through borrowing and depletion of assets and savings is unlikely to be sustainable and displays the need for interventions that work towards reducing the financial consequences of ill-health.
Length: 42
Creation-Date: 2014-09-30
File-URL: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/76962/wp592.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Series: RePEc:ems:euriss
Keywords: health shocks, ill-health, consumption insurance, health expenditure, labour supply, poverty dynamics, Ethiopia
Handle: RePEc:ems:euriss:76962