iiG Briefing Paper 26. Coping with land expropriation in rural Ethiopia

Abstract

Land markets in Ethiopia function poorly, so land for large investments is often acquired through expropriation of small-scale farms. Recent iiG research evaluates the impact of expropriation on a group of small farmers whose land was taken to provide space for a large factory. Data collected before and after farmers lost their land and received a lump-sum compensation payment is used to examine how households cope with losing a major asset and the extent to which the lump-sum payment can be used to replace their lost income