Abstract

Armed conflicts and war are known for their devastating effect on the economy. We attempt to assess the effect of conflict and war on households’ welfare using data from 3,245 households in Tigrai, Ethiopia. Firstly, our comparative analysis result indicates that war reduced the income of the households by 57.7 percent, expenditure declined by 37.7 percent, and the level of saving dropped to zero. Further, due to the war, 48.7 percent of the households became unemployed. Secondly, to cope with the war-induced shortage of food, households adopted various coping strategies: (i) reducing the quality and quantity of food they consume, (ii) selling off livestock and assets, (iii) using their savings, (iv) requesting support (financial and in-kind) from family, NGOs and government, (v) eating inedible green leaves, and (vi) going for migration or begging, and others. Finally, we suggest some policy recommendations for coping with food shortage in wartime.

Key Words: War and conflict, Food shortage, Household welfare, Coping strategy, Tigrai