최신자료
Building resilience to climate shocks: Gendered lessons from Zambia
- Zambia is no stranger to extreme climate events. This policy brief examines how climate shocks in Zambia affect labour participation, household income, and food consumption, and whether these impacts differ by gender. In recent years, Zambia has experienced severe droughts, floods, and high temperatures, with 2024 bringing the worst drought in six decades. Agriculture, which is the central source of livelihoods and employs a large share of the population, is especially at risk. When rains fail or floods strike, harvests collapse, food prices soar, and household consumption declines.
- Yet the burden is uneven. Women are often more vulnerable to the fallout from climate shocks due to structural disadvantages in access to land, labour markets, and credit. Female-headed households face higher risks of food insecurity and income loss. These unequal burdens not only deepen gender inequality but also threaten Zambia’s broader development trajectory.
- Despite these realities, there is little rigorous evidence on how climate shocks affect men and women differently in low-income settings. This study helps fill the gap by providing one of the first comprehensive analysis of the labour and welfare impacts of climate shocks in Zambia. It shows that shocks reduce labour participation, income, and consumption, with women bearing disproportionate costs. It also demonstrates that while social protection offers some income relief, it does not prevent welfare losses, highlighting the need for gender-sensitive resilience policies.
- The study draws on two major nationally representative datasets: five waves of Zambia’s Labour Force Surveys (2017-21) and two rounds of the Living Conditions Measurement Survey (2015 and 2022). These surveys are linked with detailed historical rainfall and temperature data at the district level, allowing the authors to capture the effects of extreme weather on labour outcomes, income, and household consumption. Their broad coverage and repeated implementation provide a robust basis for analysing labour market and welfare impacts, while linkage with district-level climate data ensures credible identification of weather shocks.
[Findings]
- Climate shocks in Zambia reduce labour participation, household income and food consumption. Women face the greatest burden: female headed households experience sharper declines in food consumption
- Female workers are more likely to exit the labour market or shift into self-employment when shocks occur
- Social protection cushions income losses but does not protect against declines in consumption, likely due to rising food prices
- Yet the burden is uneven. Women are often more vulnerable to the fallout from climate shocks due to structural disadvantages in access to land, labour markets, and credit. Female-headed households face higher risks of food insecurity and income loss. These unequal burdens not only deepen gender inequality but also threaten Zambia’s broader development trajectory.
- Despite these realities, there is little rigorous evidence on how climate shocks affect men and women differently in low-income settings. This study helps fill the gap by providing one of the first comprehensive analysis of the labour and welfare impacts of climate shocks in Zambia. It shows that shocks reduce labour participation, income, and consumption, with women bearing disproportionate costs. It also demonstrates that while social protection offers some income relief, it does not prevent welfare losses, highlighting the need for gender-sensitive resilience policies.
- The study draws on two major nationally representative datasets: five waves of Zambia’s Labour Force Surveys (2017-21) and two rounds of the Living Conditions Measurement Survey (2015 and 2022). These surveys are linked with detailed historical rainfall and temperature data at the district level, allowing the authors to capture the effects of extreme weather on labour outcomes, income, and household consumption. Their broad coverage and repeated implementation provide a robust basis for analysing labour market and welfare impacts, while linkage with district-level climate data ensures credible identification of weather shocks.
[Findings]
- Climate shocks in Zambia reduce labour participation, household income and food consumption. Women face the greatest burden: female headed households experience sharper declines in food consumption
- Female workers are more likely to exit the labour market or shift into self-employment when shocks occur
- Social protection cushions income losses but does not protect against declines in consumption, likely due to rising food prices
많이 본 자료
