Cash Transfers Enable Households to Cope with Agricultural Production and Price Shocks: Evidence from Zambia |
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| Authors: | Kathleen Lawlor Sudhanshu Handa David Seidenfeld THE ZAMBIA CASH TRANSFER EVALUATION TEAM |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC, USA;2. Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA;3. American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC, USA |
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| Abstract: | Climate change is projected to dramatically disrupt rainfall patterns and agricultural yields in sub-Saharan Africa. These shocks to food production can mire farming households in poverty traps. This study investigates whether unconditional cash transfers can help households cope with agricultural production and price shocks. We find that cash empowers poor, rural households facing these negative shocks to employ coping strategies typically used by the non-poor and enables them to substantially increase their food consumption and overall food security. Extending relatively small cash payments unconditionally to the rural poor is a powerful policy option for fostering climate-resilient development. |
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