Description

Abstract: In pastoral societies, the transfer of animals from one household to another as gifts or loans is commonly observed. Three main interpretations of these livestock transfers have been advanced in the anthropological literature. First, transfers serve as a risk coping mechanisms–following livestock losses due to droughts, raids, or other adverse events, livestock flow into the impacted household’s herd from herds belonging to other herders to avoid a food security crisis and help begin the herd rebuilding process. Second, transfers serve as risk management mechanisms–herders build a network of claims on other herders by strategically selecting transfer partners so that should they need animals in the future, they can call on pre-established relationships. Third, livestock transfers serve as a form of taxation that prevents excessive inequality–transfers flow from the wealthy to the poor in order to prevent poverty and increase equality. This study contrasts these three explanations using data on livestock transfers among Gabra herders in northern Kenya. Econometric analysis of transfers in and out of 88 household herds over a four year period (1993-1997) was performed. Findings have implications for both research on risk-sharing institutions and for the design of development policies in pastoral areas.