@article{Josephson:212459, recid = {212459}, author = {Josephson, Anna Leigh and Michler, Jeffrey D.}, title = {To Specialize or Diversify: Agricultural Diversity and Poverty Persistence in Ethiopia}, address = {2015}, number = {1008-2016-80173}, pages = {30}, year = {2015}, abstract = {This article answers the empirical question: what is the relationship between the choice to specialize or diversify in crop production and household poverty status? We use household panel data from Ethiopia and a recently developed parametric method for estimating dynamic binary response models with endogenous contemporaneous regres- sors. Our results provide evidence that households which grow a diverse set of crops are less likely to be poor. Additionally, crop diversity reduces the probability that a house- hold will fall into poverty and reduces the probability that a household will remain in poverty. We conclude that policies which encourage households to specialize in cash crops may be counter-productive while policies which encourage crop diversification may reduce poverty.}, url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/212459}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.212459}, }