The cost of gaps in existing food price-stabilizing market policies in urban areas for poor women and their families: The case of Addis Ababa

Abstract

Food inflation has been a challenge in Ethiopia since prices of staple foods started rising in 2005, particularly threatening the food security of relatively poor and marginalized groups, such as women. However, there is limited research on the actual impact of food price surges and government-responsive programs on poor women. This study investigates the effect of food inflation and its coping mechanisms vis-à-vis government response programs from the perspective of poor women through consciously adopting feminist economics as a theoretical and interpretive framework. This was accomplished by taking into consideration women’s gender-based privations and other facets of their identities and lived realities.