Weather variability and malnutrition among farming households in Ethiopia

Unlike existing studies that examined the effects of weather variability by relying on the current weather conditions disregarding the long-term influence of historical weather patterns, we jointly estimate the effects of current and past weather variability on rural households’ nutritional status. Using three waves of nationally representative panel data from rural Ethiopia, we show that the nutritional status of farming households, measured by daily intakes of micro-and macronutrients, is more sensitive to past weather variability than the current weather condition. We also find that adverse weather history can trigger responses that are linked to the deterioration of nutritional status.