Fitsum Zewdu Mulugeta

Volatility of Ethiopian Export Earnings: the Contribution of Major Export Commodities Fitsum Zewdu Mulugeta

Developing countries heavily depend on export earnings to satisfy their import requirements. Ethiopian export, like many other developing countries, is concentrated into few primary products that are mainly agricultural. Studies suggest that such commodity concentration could result in fluctuation of export proceeds, which in turn will affect growth and capital formation of the country. In this book Ethiopia's export earnings instability is analyzed by employing country specific model using a sufficiently large time-series data covering the period 1962 to 2008. The contribution of the major agricultural export commodities of the country to the instability have been identified. The book also attempts to compare the three different socio-political periods of the country within this period. The book helps shed some light on the policy formulation regarding export diversification.