Social capital as a double-edged sword for sustained poverty escapes in Ethiopia

Abstract

What enables social capital to contribute to sustained poverty escapes, and what could compensate for the negative effects of adverse social norms that inhibit pathways out of poverty? This paper seeks to answer these questions in Ethiopia by analysing three rounds of the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey (2011/12, 2013/14, and 2015/16) alongside fieldwork in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR comprising focus group discussions, life history interviews, and key informant interviews. The study finds that families able to sustain poverty escapes typically possess a combination of material wealth, human, political and social capital, all underpinned by an enabling environment marked by factors including an evolving education system and pro-poor political settlement. Better-off households are then able to draw on social capital during shocks that could otherwise precipitate declines in wellbeing.However, the social events which sustain social capital can be a double-edged sword. Families may spend much on weddings, funerals, children’s christenings and birthdays, and inaugurations of newly houses. Reciprocity is expected when organizing these feasts, which poor families find difficult to maintain. Accordingly, some take credit and become indebted, others sell livestock and limit their ability to cope with shocks, and some young people are also forced to migrate to generate income to settle family debt. Based on these findings, policy suggestions are offered, such as through promoting public discussion of migration risks and mitigation of these risks, group-based insurance to help support costs for feasts, and expanding the scope of PSNP transfers to recognize the importance of idiosyncratic shocks.