Drought and Saving in West Africa: Are Livestock a Buffer Stock?
Households in the West African semi-arid tropics face substantial risk--an inevitable consequence of engaging in rainfed agriculture in a drought-prone environment. It has long been hypothesized that these households keep livestock as a buffer stock to insulate their consumption from income fluctuat...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1998
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| Summary: | Households in the West African semi-arid tropics face substantial risk--an inevitable consequence of engaging in rainfed agriculture in a drought-prone environment. It has long been hypothesized that these households keep livestock as a buffer stock to insulate their consumption from income fluctuations. This paper tests this hypothesis. Results indicate that livestock transactions play less of a consumption smoothing role than often assumed. Livestock sales compensate for at most 30 percent, and probably closer to 20 percent, of income shortfalls due to village-level shocks alone. The authors discuss possible explanations for these results and suggest directions for future work. |
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