Structural adjustment and rural smallholder welfare : a comparative analysis from sub-Saharan Africa

Emphasis is placed on examining the relevant economic signals before and after policy reforms were instituted. This procedure, of course, cannot attribute any changes in the relevant signals to specific adjustment programs. However, the aim is not to examine whether the change in the fortunes of the poor is due only to adjustment or other concurrent developments, but rather to infer directions of welfare changes after reforms were instituted. Moreover, the aim is not to examine the change in the total magnitude of poverty, but only the welfare changes of a typical household within a given group. Section 2 outlines the methodological framework and analytical model that is to be employed in examining how low-income smallholder households are affected by macroeconomic adjustment. This is followed by a discussion of the data employed from the five countries included in the comparative analysis: Cote d"Ivoire, Ghana, Malawi, Madagascar, and Tanzania. This presentation and discussion of descriptive statistics will focus on characterizing the structure of consumption and sources of income, as well of price movements that have occurred during the years under which countries have been undergoing adjustment. Next we present the results of the analytical model, followed by a concluding section on the policy implications of the findings. (Author abstract)