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The Livelihoods Gap: Responding to the Economic Dynamics of Vulnerability in Somalia
Author(s) -
Le Sage Andre,
Majid Nisar
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/1467-7717.00188
Subject(s) - livelihood , vulnerability (computing) , psychological intervention , subsistence agriculture , asset (computer security) , business , development economics , economics , agriculture , computer security , medicine , geography , archaeology , psychiatry , computer science
A ‘livelihoods gap’ has become evident in international aid delivery to Somalia. Existing aid interventions do not address the economic dynamics of vulnerability resulting from Somalia’s long history of predatory development and asset stripping. To prevent poor households’ regular return to sub‐subsistence income levels after a brief period of plenty, this paper argues that aid agencies should reorient and expand existing interventions to assist poor households to capitalise on temporary improvements in environmental and security conditions. As a corollary to emergency relief and efforts to construct state institutions, it is necessary to devise country‐wide interventions that will rebuild household asset bases by protecting savings during times of stress and ensuring that markets benefit poor producers.