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Festus Murithi

Bio: Festus Murithi is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Welfare & Poverty. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 7 publications receiving 545 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present comparative qualitative and quantitative evidence from rural Kenya and Madagascar in an attempt to untangle the causality behind persistent poverty, and suggest the existence of multiple dynamic asset and structural income equilibria, consistent with the poverty traps hypothesis.
Abstract: This paper presents comparative qualitative and quantitative evidence from rural Kenya and Madagascar in an attempt to untangle the causality behind persistent poverty. We find striking differences in welfare dynamics depending on whether one uses total income, including stochastic terms and inevitable measurement error, or the predictable, structural component of income based on a household's asset holdings. Our results suggest the existence of multiple dynamic asset and structural income equilibria, consistent with the poverty traps hypothesis. Furthermore, we find supporting evidence of locally increasing returns to assets and of risk management behaviour consistent with poor households' defence of a critical asset threshold through asset smoothing.

368 citations

Posted ContentDOI
TL;DR: This paper used cluster analysis methods to operationalize the concept of livelihood strategies in household data and then uses the resulting strategy-specific income distributions to test whether the hypothesized outcome differences between livelihoods indeed exist.
Abstract: The concept of a livelihood strategy has become central to development practice in recent years. Nonetheless, precise identification of livelihoods in quantitative data has remained methodologically elusive. This paper uses cluster analysis methods to operationalize the concept of livelihood strategies in household data and then uses the resulting strategy-specific income distributions to test whether the hypothesized outcome differences between livelihoods indeed exist. Using data from Kenya’s central and western highlands, we identify five distinct livelihood strategies that exhibit statistically significant differences in mean per capita incomes and stochastic dominance orderings that establish clear welfare rankings among livelihood strategies. Multinomial regression analysis identifies geographic, demographic and financial determinants of livelihood choice. The results should facilitate targeting of interventions designed to improve household livelihoods.

170 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present comparative qualitative and quantitative evidence from rural Kenya and Madagascar in an attempt to untangle the causality behind persistent poverty, and suggest the existence of multiple dynamic asset and structural income equilibria, consistent with the poverty traps hypothesis.
Abstract: This paper presents comparative qualitative and quantitative evidence from rural Kenya and Madagascar in an attempt to untangle the causality behind persistent poverty. We find striking differences in welfare dynamics depending on whether one uses total income, including stochastic terms and inevitable measurement error, or the predictable, structural component of income based on a household's asset holdings. Our results suggest the existence of multiple dynamic asset and structural income equilibria, consistent with the poverty traps hypothesis. Furthermore, we find supporting evidence of locally increasing returns to assets and of risk management behavior consistent with poor households' defense of a critical asset threshold through asset smoothing.

11 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the role of a translational research process to enhance farmers' voice, to understand the sources of vulnerability farmers in a group in Kenya's Coast face, and to determine if their concerns are consistent with those of the scientists in agriculture addressing farmers' needs is examined.
Abstract: Genetically modified (GM) cassava is currently being developed to address problems of diseases that threaten the food security of farmers in developing countries. The technologies are aimed at smallholder farmers, in hopes of reducing the vulnerability of cassava production to these diseases. In this paper we examine barriers to farmers’ voice in the development of GM cassava. We also examine the role of a translational research process to enhance farmers’ voice, to understand the sources of vulnerability farmers in a group in Kenya’s Coast face, and to determine if their concerns are consistent with those of the scientists in agriculture addressing farmers’ needs. A two-way communication participatory process provided insights into the complex vulnerability context of farmers, their primary concerns with processing and markets of cassava in order to improve livelihoods, the lack of networks with two way communication flows, and the lack of information on GM technologies. The translational research engaged farmers and scientists in an iterative process where scientists are learning what farmers need, and farmers are learning about the potential benefits and risks from GM technologies, while at the same time expressing their concerns.

11 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: This paper used cluster analysis to operationalise the concept of livelihood strategies in household data, and then used the resulting strategy-specific income distributions to test whether outcome differences exist between livelihoods.
Abstract: The concept of a livelihood strategy has become central to development practice in recent years. Nonetheless, precise identification of livelihoods in quantitative data has remained methodologically elusive. This paper uses cluster analysis to operationalise the concept of livelihood strategies in household data, then uses the resulting strategy-specific income distributions to test whether outcome differences exist between livelihoods. Using data from Kenya’s central and western highlands, five distinct livelihood strategies that exhibit statistically significant differences in mean per capita incomes and stochastic dominance orderings that establish clear welfare rankings among livelihood strategies were identified. Multinomial regression analysis finds geographic, demographic and financial determinants of livelihood choice.

4 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors developed an asset-based approach to poverty analysis that makes it possible to distinguish deep-rooted, persistent structural poverty from poverty that passes naturally with time due to systemic growth processes.
Abstract: Longitudinal data on household living standards open the way to a deeper analysis of the nature and extent of poverty. While a number of studies have exploited this type of data to distinguish transitory from more chronic forms of income or expenditure poverty, this paper develops an asset-based approach to poverty analysis that makes it possible to distinguish deep-rooted, persistent structural poverty from poverty that passes naturally with time due to systemic growth processes. Drawing on the economic theory of poverty traps and bifurcated accumulation strategies, this paper briefly discusses some feasible estimation strategies for empirically identifying poverty traps and long-term, persistent structural poverty, as well as relevant extensions of the popular Foster-Greer-Thorbecke class of poverty measures. The paper closes with reflections on how asset-based poverty can be used to underwrite the design of persistent poverty reduction strategies.

1,487 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Ato Mohammed, 55 and illiterate, lives in the Bati district of South Wollo Zone (Ethiopia) and heads a household of nine people with no oxen as discussed by the authors.

636 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors found that the size of the farm owned by a household, the value of its livestock, off-farm income, family labor supply, and the educational attainment and gender of the household head all had a significant positive effect on the likelihood of adoption.

488 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined three dimensions of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) of 29 coastal communities across five western Indian Ocean countries to the impacts of coral bleaching on fishery returns, and developed a novel, network-based approach to examine sensitivity to changes in the fishery that incorporates linkages between fishery and non-fishery occupations.
Abstract: Coral reefs support the livelihood of millions of people especially those engaged in marine fisheries activities Coral reefs are highly vulnerable to climate change induced stresses that have led to substantial coral mortality over large spatial scales Such climate change impacts have the potential to lead to declines in marine fish production and compromise the livelihoods of fisheries dependent communities Yet few studies have examined social vulnerability in the context of changes specific to coral reef ecosystems In this paper, we examine three dimensions of vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) of 29 coastal communities across five western Indian Ocean countries to the impacts of coral bleaching on fishery returns A key contribution is the development of a novel, network-based approach to examining sensitivity to changes in the fishery that incorporates linkages between fishery and non-fishery occupations We find that key sources of vulnerability differ considerably within and between the five countries Our approach allows the visualization of how these dimensions of vulnerability differ from site to site, providing important insights into the types of nuanced policy interventions that may help to reduce vulnerability at a specific location To complement this, we develop framework of policy actions thought to reduce different aspects of vulnerability at varying spatial and temporal scales Although our results are specific to reef fisheries impacts from coral bleaching, this approach provides a framework for other types of threats and different social-ecological systems more broadly

404 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review relevant threads of the poverty traps literature to motivate a description of the opportunities presented by innovative index-based risk transfer products for low-income countries.
Abstract: A growing literature suggests that in low-income countries, households with few assets can be trapped in chronic poverty. This article reviews relevant threads of the poverty traps literature to motivate a description of the opportunities presented by innovative index-based risk transfer products. These products can be used to address some insurance and credit market failures that contribute to the persistence of poverty among households in low-income countries. Applications are considered at the micro, meso, and macro levels.

380 citations