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HOW DO POOR RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN MYANMAR COPE WITH SHOCKS? COPING STRATEGIES IN A FISHING AND FARMING VILLAGE IN RAKHINE STATE
Author(s) -
OKAMOTO Ikuko
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the developing economies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.305
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1746-1049
pISSN - 0012-1533
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1049.2010.00123.x
Subject(s) - fishing , coping (psychology) , agriculture , cash , cash crop , state (computer science) , business , economics , development economics , economic growth , socioeconomics , geography , finance , political science , psychology , archaeology , algorithm , psychiatry , computer science , law
This paper examines how poor rural households in Myanmar cope with shocks which incur unexpected expenditure, namely, the sickness or death of a household member, using data collected in a fishing and farming village in Myanmar in 2008. The paper analyzes the sequence of coping strategies and the background factors behind the sequence. Self‐insurance, the dissaving of assets or cash, is given priority over intra‐party strategies, such as loans or gifts. The reason for this lies in the persistent severe credit constraints faced by households, both in terms of access and cost (high level of interest rates), and the absence of strong social norms for mutual insurance in the community. Both factors appear to force these households to self‐insure themselves from the outset.