MOTIVATION
The Ethiopia Rural Household Survey (ERHS) is a unique longitudinal household dataset covering, at present, nearly 1,500 households in villages throughout rural Ethiopia. IFPRI has been associated with the collection and analysis of ERHS data since the survey’s first round in 1989, when data on consumption, assets, and income were critical to understanding the household-level response to food insecurity during civil conflict. The survey was expanded in 1994, and further rounds occurred in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2009. Among other topics, the survey covered household characteristics (including agriculture and livestock information, food consumption, health, and women’s activities) and community information (including electricity and water use, sewage, health services, and education).
OUTCOMES
In collaboration with researchers from the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University and the Economics Department of Addis Ababa University (AAU), IFPRI has supervised the ERHS and analyzed collected data. This work has generated significant public goods. The ERHS has been discussed in more than 300 publications, nearly half of which use the data as an integral part of their empirical analysis. The knowledge spillovers are substantial, and the ERHS provides information on a variety of subjects, ranging from marriage institutions and solidarity networks to technology adoption and service delivery.
IFPRI’s involvement with the ERHS has contributed, through the Institute’s connection to AAU, to capacity building and human capital formation. AAU faculty and students have been instrumental in survey design and data collection since the ERHS began 25 years ago. This long-standing involvement of students has produced significant improvements in domestic economic analytical capacity. The ERHS has also been well used by AAU graduate students in master’s theses and doctoral dissertations.
