Ensuring Escapes from Poverty are Sustained in Rural Ethiopia

This report combines analysis from four rounds of the ERHS with qualitative research approaches; in particular, key informant interviews, life histories, and participatory wealth ranking to further investigate the drivers of transitory poverty escapes. Specifically, it examines why some households are able to escape poverty and remain out of it—that is, they experience sustained escapes from poverty—while others escape poverty only to return to living in it again – that is, they experience transitory escapes. The report investigates the resources (land, livestock, and value of assets), attributes (household composition and education level), and activities (including jobs, engagement in non-farm activities and migration) of households that enable them to escape poverty sustainably and minimize the likelihood of returning to living in poverty again.

This report is part of a suite of products produced by LEO to explore sustainable poverty escapes. A synthesis of findings from research into poverty dynamics in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Uganda is available here. Country case studies were published for Bangladesh and Uganda, along with a methodological note on conducting poverty dynamics research. Additional resources include an infographic, a brief on the policy and program implications of this research, insights from applying a multidimensional poverty lens.