Some studies have quantified the extent and examined the determinants of the global multidimensional poverty index (G-MPI) which contains only three dimensions of welfare. But studies on the extent and determinants of rural multidimensional poverty index (R-MPI) which contains rural livelihood as one dimension of welfare are scarce. Hence, this study quantified the extent and examined the determinants of rural multidimensional poverty index using the Alkire–Foster method and the ordered logistic regression model, respectively. Data were gathered from 415 random sample households in southern Ethiopia. The incidence, intensity, and adjusted headcount ratio of rural multidimensional poverty are 72.3%, 57.3%, and 41.4% respectively. Besides, 7.47%, 20.24%, 30.60%, and 41.69% of households are non-poor, vulnerable, poor, and extremely poor, respectively. The living standard and rural livelihood dimensions jointly contributed 60% to rural multidimensional poverty. Fuel for cooking, electricity, and housing are the primary contributors to rural poverty from the living standard dimension, while land ownership, off-farm activity, and tropical livestock units are the leading contributors from the rural livelihood dimension to rural deprivation. Regression results showed that education, land size, tropical livestock unit, off-farm participation, and saving are negatively and significantly related to rural poverty, while dependency ratio, distance from market, distance from the road, and sickness of family members are positively and significantly related to rural poverty. Female-headed households were more deprived than male-headed households. Hence, promoting access to land, non-farm employment, markets, electricity, drinking water, and a road network would reduce rural multidimensional poverty in southern Ethiopia.

Data from 500 rural farm households were collected using multistage sampling technique from Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia and the determinants of off farm income diversification and its effect on rural poverty were examined with the help of logit and multinomial logit model. The regression result revealed that age, education, access to infrastructure, livestock ownerships, credits uses, and farm income are the main determinants of households’ participation in off farm activities. In addition, off farm participation rate was 76% while off farm income accounts for 51% of the total household income in the study areas. The estimation results of the logit model also showed that off farm participation significantly reduces the probability of being poor of rural farm households. The study also determined the poverty line and about 29.8% of the population were found below poverty line. Therefore, to reduce rural poverty, entry barriers to off farm activities (access to finance, market, education and infrastructures) need to be overcome and off farm opportunities (micro and small enterprises) in rural areas have to be expanded by government. Key words: Off farm income, livelihood diversification, rural poverty, multinomial logit, Ethiopia.

This study examined the central characteristics of migrants and determinants of rural-urban migration in Southern Ethiopia based on snow ball sampling and a survey of 665 sample migrants using descriptive and econometric analysis. The results of this study showed that 76.2% of the migrants left their home at age ranges between 15 and 25 years. Similarly, it was found that 48% of the migrants were attending junior education level, while 28 and 13% of the migrants were attending secondary and primary education levels, respectively. Moreover, 80% of migrants in the study area were not married as at the time of their migration. In addition, the study found that the main reasons for rural-urban migration in the study areas were better jobs opportunities in the urban areas (44%), rural poverty (26%), search for further education (10%), starting new business (8%), to be free from restrictive culture (8%) and better urban services (4%). The regression analysis of the Probit model indicated that age, years of schooling, relatives at receiving areas, monthly income at sending areas and family size significantly affect rural-urban migration. Policies aimed at reducing rural-urban migration should focus on creating viable farm and non-farm activities for rural unbanked youth. Key words: Rural-urban migration, push and pull factors, probit model, Ethiopia.

Although the share of developing countries in international trade has been growing over the last two decades, the share of Africa and Ethiopia in international trade has remained below 3 and 0.3 per cent, respectively. More importantly, despite the colossal effort that has been made by the Ethiopian government to remedy the problem of the export sector over the last two decades, the country has faced a twin deficit: trade deficit and fiscal deficit. As a result, the trade balance of Ethiopia has been worsening through time due to the widening gap between export and import values. Therefore, this study examined the determinants of Ethiopian agricultural exports using the imperfect substitutes’ model as a theoretical framework and system generalised moment method as an analytical model for the period 1998–2018. The regression result of the two-step system generalised moment method showed that gross domestic product, exchange rate, road network, corruption index of Ethiopia, lagged export value, indirect tax revenue and domestic saving are the major determinants of agricultural exports in Ethiopia. However, foreign direct investment and labour force are negatively and significantly related to Ethiopian agricultural exports. Hence, rapid economic growth, currency devaluation, encouraging domestic saving, reducing the tariff on export and better control of corruption would boost Ethiopian agricultural exports. Besides, controlling rapid population growth and directing foreign direct investment to the agricultural sector will also surge Ethiopian agricultural exports.

This study examined the impact of rural out-migration on the poverty of migrant-sending households by applying the new economics labor migration theory as a theoretical framework, and the multinomial endogenous switching regression as an analytical model in southern Ethiopia. Data were gathered from 415 sample rural households using stratified random sampling in the year 2021. The cost of basic needs approach and the Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (FGT) method were used to establish the poverty line and create the poverty indices, respectively. The average annual food and non-food poverty lines are Birr 8997.52 and 2249.38 per adult equivalent. The incidence, depth, and severity of general poverty are 39.76, 10.11, and 3.55%, respectively, while the incidence, depth, and severity of food poverty are 34.70, 9.47, and 3.58%, respectively. When compared to other households, households with international migrants have a lower incidence, depth, and severity of poverty. The regression result of the multinomial endogenous switching model showed that international migration increases consumption per adult equivalent of households by 29.8% and is significant at the 1% level. Participation in rural-urban and international migration increases kilocalories per adult equivalent per day by 7.4 and 36.4%, respectively, in migrant-sending rural households. The findings support the new economics labor migration theory’s remittance hypothesis. Promoting access to land, capital, farm and non-farm employment, irrigation, family planning, and basic public services would improve rural household welfare and reduce the current wave of rural out-migration in Southern Ethiopia.

1. Countries in this world differ in terms of resource endowment and technological level in the production of products and services (Allaro, 2015). Differences in resource endowments and production...