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Population pressure and dynamics of household livelihoods in an Ethiopian Village: an elaboration of the Boserup-Chayanovian framework

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the mechanisms and effects of population pressure on rural livelihood system in South central Ethiopia from 1950 to 2004. In Sub-Sahara Africa population pressure takes two different forms: (1) a pressure on existing household to accommodate a growing number of children (change in household dependency ratio); (2) An increased demand for new livelihood positions in a situation where the total resources available for households may be constrained (change in density ratio). We blended the approaches of Boserup and Chayanov to understand how families make their living when dependency and density ratios change over time. We collected data using a life course and cohort study approaches to capture the dynamics and to compare the past with the present. We found out that livelihood strategies took different forms when both dependency and density ratios were low and when they were on the increase. When both ratios were low livelihood strategies took the form of agricultural extensification and this was due to the relative availability of land. When both ratios were on the increase, livelihood strategies took the forms of agricultural intensification and diversification.

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Notes

  1. You will find the source material for the texts in Malmberg and Tegenu (2006).

  2. A timad is a local measure of land, equivalent to what an adult male can plough in a day using a pair of oxen; on average it is approximately equal to 0.25 hectares.

  3. At the village level, assets can be aggregated by a category (such as the number of enset plant) or combination of categories (number of enset plant, size of timad land, number of adult labour, etc.).

  4. For conceptualizing and designing life course research see Giele and Elder (1998), For causal explanation and analysis in life course study see Blossfeld and Rohwer (2002).

  5. In farming, men’s labor is used for plowing, sewing, weeding, harvesting and storing crops. In the enset land men are responsible for clearing the land, tilling soil, planting the crop and transplanting it to other plots. Women’s labor is used for manuring, harvesting, preparing and storing enset plants.

  6. Non-farm activities are separated into three main types: craft, trade, and service activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Bo Malmberg & Tsegaye Tegenu

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  1. Bo Malmberg
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  2. Tsegaye Tegenu
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Correspondence to Bo Malmberg.

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Malmberg, B., Tegenu, T. Population pressure and dynamics of household livelihoods in an Ethiopian Village: an elaboration of the Boserup-Chayanovian framework. Popul Environ 29, 39–67 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-007-0060-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-007-0060-7

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