The impact of the 2015 El Niño-induced drought on household consumption: Evidence from rural Ethiopia

This paper evaluates the impact of the 2015 El Niño-induced drought on household consumption in Ethiopia. A Difference-in-Difference method was used to compare consumption changes over time in a group unaffected by the drought to the changes in a group affected by the drought. Using household-level consumption aggregate data from the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey, the authors find that the 2015 drought reduces affected households’ annual consumption by 8% and the reduction was largely driven by changes in the lower tails of the consumption distribution. Overall, the report finds a significant consumption decline due to the 2015 drought and much of the decline has been experienced among the consumption-poor, indicating shock resilience inequality among rural households. 

This paper is a contribution to the 2019 edition of the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR 2019).

To cite this paper: 

Kasie, T.A. et al.. The impact of the 2015 El Niño-induced drought on household consumption: Evidence from rural Ethiopia. Contributing Paper to GAR 2019