Description
The Economy of Ethiopia is a comprehensive study of the economic changes that accompanied the social revolution of 1974. Based on data not readily available, the book documents the attempt to introduce a socialist pattern of development, analyzes the policies adopted by the revolutionary government and underlines the serious weaknesses in Ethiopia's development strategy. The initial land reform and subsequent efforts to collectivize peasant agriculture and create state farms were central features of agrarian transformation. Resources were squeezed out of the peasantry, traditional exports were damaged and the livelihood of the poor was depressed to such an extent that mass starvation became inevitable.