The Oxford Handbook of the Ethiopian Economy


Book Description

From a war-torn and famine-plagued country at the beginning of the 1990s, Ethiopia is today emerging as one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. Growth in Ethiopia has surpassed that of every other sub-Saharan country over the past decade and is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to exceed 8 percent over the next two years. The government has set its eyes on transforming the country into a middle-income country by 2025, and into a leading manufacturing hub in Africa. The Oxford Handbook of the Ethiopian Economy studies this country's unique model of development, where the state plays a central role, and where a successful industrialization drive has challenged the long-held erroneous assumption that industrial policy will never work in poor African countries. While much of the volume is focused on post-1991 economic development policy and strategy, the analysis is set against the background of the long history of Ethiopia, and more specifically on the Imperial period that ended in 1974, the socialist development experiment of the Derg regime between 1974 and 1991, and the policies and strategies of the current EPRDF government that assumed power in 1991. Including a range of contributions from both academic and professional standpoints, this volume is a key reference work on the economy of Ethiopia.




Overcoming Agricultural and Food Crises in Ethiopia


Book Description

Overcoming Agricultural and Food Crises in Ethiopia is a sobering presentation of the crises of smallholder agriculture, food and nutrition, the environment and the impending threats to the survival and well-being of millions of Ethiopians and the nation. The combination of the obsolete systems on the one hand, with a growing young population, sustained decline of agricultural land per capita, unstructured urbanization and absence of rural industrialization on the other, presents a grim prospect for the contemporary Ethiopian state builders. The book seeks to call on political leaders, policymakers, scholars, business people, religious and moral authorities, farmers, and the general public to urgently mobilize bold vision and action to redress the crises.About the AuthorGetachew Diriba was born and raised in rural Ethiopia like most of his contemporaries. He graduated from Haramaya College of Agriculture, attended a post-graduate program at the University of Dortmund, Germany, and obtained a Doctoral degree in agricultural economics from the School of Development Studies of the University of East Anglia, the United Kingdom.He worked as extension program officer and Project Manager of the Kobo Alamata Agricultural Development Project in Northeastern Ethiopia; Program Manager for CARE Ethiopia; Regional Adviser for Southern and Eastern Africa for CARE International. He also worked for the United Nations World Food Program in Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping for the Southern, the Great Lakes, and the Central Africa Regions; Head of Program in the Republic of the Sudan, Regional Program Adviser for the Middle East and Central Europe, Director of the Partnerships and Capacity Development Service at Headquarters, Country Director and Representative in the Republic of Liberia, and Country Director and Representative in the People's Republic of China, in which he established the China Center of Excellence for WFP. He retired from WFP in early 2017.




The Puzzle of Ethiopian Politics


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Ten years of the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency


Book Description

Through a rigorous, multi-stage analysis, the evidence generated by this corporate evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA)’s business plan for achieving measurable changes in Ethiopia’s agricultural sector, both at micro and macro levels. The assessment also identifies areas for renewed and refined emphasis, as well as strategic planning for the future planning and monitoring of ATA’s work. This evaluation finds that ATA has achieved many of the outcomes it is being measured against, in terms of input use, extension services, and agricultural technology. The outcomes observed point to the effective removal of bottlenecks in the rural agricultural economy that have improved the linkages between producers, input markets and agricultural services. The improvements in those priority areas are reflected in productivity gains for certain priority crops and in market orientation positions that confirm ATA’s effectiveness in connecting producers to markets. FAO’s evaluation finds positive macroeconomic effects from ATA interventions, helping to ameliorate the reduction in gross domestic product growth, and also supporting the development of agroindustry and transportation services.




Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia


Book Description

This 1988 text traces the continuities between revolutionary Ethiopia and the development of a centralised Ethiopian state since the nineteenth century.




The Ethiopian Revolution 1974-1987


Book Description

This book is a comprehensive account of the Ethiopian revolution, dealing with the entire span of the revolutionary government's life. Particular emphasis is placed on effectively isolating and articulating the causes and outcomes of the revolution. The author traces the revolution's roots in the weaknesses of the autocratic regime of Haile Selassie, examines the formative years of the revolution in the mid-seventies, when the ideology of scientific socialism was espoused by the ruling military council, and finally charts the consolidation of Mengistu Haile Miriam's power from 1977 to the adoption of a new constitution in 1987. In examining these events, Dr Tiruneh makes extensive use of primary sources written in the national official language. He was also the first Ethiopian nation to write a book on this subject. This book is thus a unique account of a fascinating period, capturing the mood of the revolution as never before, yet firmly grounded in scholarship.




Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia


Book Description

For thousands of years, Ethiopia has depended on its smallholding farmers to provide the bulk of its food needs. But now, such farmers find themselves under threat from environmental degradation, climate change and declining productivity. As a result, smallholder agriculture has increasingly become subsistence-oriented, with many of these farmers trapped in a cycle of poverty. Smallholders have long been marginalised by mainstream development policies, and only more recently has their crucial importance been recognised for addressing rural poverty through agricultural reform. This collection, written by leading Ethiopian scholars, explores the scope and impact of Ethiopia’s policy reforms over the past two decades on the smallholder sector. Focusing on the Lake Tana basin in northwestern Ethiopia, an area with untapped potential for growth, the contributors argue that any effective policy will need to go beyond agriculture to consider the role of health, nutrition and local food customs, as well as including increased safeguards for smallholder’s land rights. They in turn show that smallholders represent a vitally overlooked component of development strategy, not only in Ethiopia but across the global South.




The Transformation of Addis Ababa


Book Description

Nowhere in Africa is urban development occurring as rapidly as in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa, at the present moment. During the last decade and a half, massive construction projects in housing, commercial buildings and infrastructure have transformed the landscape of the city, creating a social experiment that has never been replicated on such a massive scale in Africa. This volume, written by Ethiopian and Finnish experts in urban planning, architecture, geography, and ethnology, documents for the first time Addis Ababa’s process of radical transformation. It asks how the city’s poorest residents are affected by the current urban renewal, and identifies the most important challenges facing the city’s residents as a result. Its conclusions focus on three issues: the livelihoods of low-income residents, their participation in the development of the city, and their social networks of support. This volume also traces out the organic forms of the city’s development. Unlike cities in many other African countries, Addis Ababa emerged with only the thinnest traces of a brief colonial legacy: only five years under Italian occupation in the mid-20th century. The city’s development has eluded many planners and has produced unique indigenous forms of urban living. The book records the current spatial relationships and older architectural forms in the old inner city currently slated for demolition. Numerous maps and illustrations are included to help readers visualize the topics discussed in the volume. The volume will be of interest to anyone interested in Addis Ababa’s history and character, as well as policymakers, urban planners, architects, human geographers, ethnographers and researchers of urban poverty and urban informality.




Food and Agriculture in Ethiopia


Book Description

The perception of Ethiopia projected in the media is often one of chronic poverty and hunger, but this bleak assessment does not accurately reflect most of the country today. Ethiopia encompasses a wide variety of agroecologies and peoples. Its agriculture sector, economy, and food security status are equally complex. In fact, since 2001 the per capita income in certain rural areas has risen by more than 50 percent, and crop yields and availability have also increased. Higher investments in roads and mobile phone technology have led to improved infrastructure and thereby greater access to markets, commodities, services, and information. In Food and Agriculture in Ethiopia: Progress and Policy Challenges, Paul Dorosh and Shahidur Rashid, along with other experts, tell the story of Ethiopia's political, economic, and agricultural transformation. The book is designed to provide empirical evidence to shed light on the complexities of agricultural and food policy in today's Ethiopia, highlight major policies and interventions of the past decade, and provide insights into building resilience to natural disasters and food crises. It examines the key issues, constraints, and opportunities that are likely to shape a food-secure future in Ethiopia, focusing on land quality, crop production, adoption of high-quality seed and fertilizer, and household income. Students, researchers, policy analysts, and decisionmakers will find this book a useful overview of Ethiopia's political, economic, and agricultural transformation as well as a resource for major food policy issues in Ethiopia. Contributors: Dawit Alemu, Guush Berhane, Jordan Chamberlin, Sarah Coll-Black, Paul Dorosh, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Sinafikeh Asrat Gemessa, Daniel O. Gilligan, John Graham, Kibrom Tafere Hirfrfot, John Hoddinott, Adam Kennedy, Neha Kumar, Mehrab Malek, Linden McBride, Dawit Kelemework Mekonnen, Asfaw Negassa, Shahidur Rashid, Emily Schmidt, David Spielman, Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, Seneshaw Tamiru, James Thurlow, William Wiseman.




The Ethiopian Transformation


Book Description