Households’ coping mechanisms with droughts and floods using finance, non‑finance and the social safety net measures: evidence from Kenya

Abstract

This study analysed households’ use of formal and informal finance, non-finance livelihood diversification and the social safety net measures in coping with droughts and floods. It employed a cross-sectional survey of 1370 households across 27 counties in Kenya that are prone to droughts and floods. Bivariate probit regressions reveal that households employ multiple coping measures related to finance, the social safety net and non-finance choices. The use of coping measures vary by household income, household dependency ratio, geographic and agro-climatic contexts, as well as the household head’s age and educational attainment. Further, the findings reveal that the use of the social safety net and non-finance coping mechanisms demonstrate complementarities in coping with droughts, suggesting that opportunities to benefit from the social safety net do not dampen livelihood diversification initiatives by the households. Additionally, households in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) depend to a large extent on the social safety net and non-finance livelihood diversification coping mechanisms, signalling the need to explore ways that encourage private sector development in promoting market-oriented coping strategies.