Talk:Economy of Ethiopia

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What does "billion" mean?

British billion= 1 000 000 000 000 OR saxon american billion=1 000 000 000 000

What a shit of a language, isn't it?

Isnt that the same?

Ethiopia took a hit in 1990 and 1991. It was about 10% in growth rate and I cannot find what this hit was from?

[edit] Ethiopian agriculture

The article says that agriculture is troubled by high population density. Can somebody qualify this. Doesn't Ethiopia have lower levels of population density than many nations in Western Europe? And even if it is higher how is this a problem for agriculture? Terjepetersen 12:39, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

The population density may be lower than in Western Europe, but the vast majority of Ethiopians live in the countryside. If you take a peak at Mi'irabawi Zone -- it's just the first of many articles I am working on to cover all of the Zones of Ethiopia -- you'll see that the average size of land each farmer tills is about 1 hectare for that Zone, 1.01 for Ethiopia as a whole, & 0.51 for Tigray. (These figures are taken from a World Bank study: one may disagree with their economic planning, but their analyses are very credible.) Note that this is the average: it factors in the extensive landholdings that the aristocracy & other large landowners have, so for many Ethiopian famers, they have to raise a family on far less.

Further, for most Ethiopians, what they grow is what they live on: there are few jobs available that pay in cash or kind. This massive underemployment is a strain on both Ethiopian economy & society, & is one of the causes for unrest following the recent general elections -- well, that & a wide-spread perception that the ruling party stole the elections. -- llywrch 19:44, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. Isn't the issue then more about structural issues such as the size of land parcels and the subsistence nature of agriculture (which may in turn be driven by other factors that impede a more business oriented structure)? How can we flesh out the article to reflect this nuance? Terjepetersen 01:17, 1 May 2006 (UTC)