HEA and Market Analysis

Poor households are increasingly dependent on markets to secure basic services and goods, and to obtain the cash they need to buy them. Gone are the days of pure subsistence livelihoods; and so, a livelihoods analysis that ignores the market has little value in today’s world. FEG has been a leader in helping to integrate information about markets into Household Economy Analysis. Over the years it has developed critical knowledge required to organize the essential pieces of market-related information related to livelihoods, distilling this potentially vast area of enquiry into practical applications. As a result, new knowledge has been generated on a range of market issues, including: estimating effective demand in rural areas; the importance of livestock sales relative to the sales of agricultural products; and the critical importance of labor markets for poor households.