Marginality as a Root Cause of Poverty: Identifying Marginality Hotspots in Ethiopia

Marginality refers to a position at the margins of social, political, economic, ecological, and biophysical systems. The paper applies this concept to the case of Ethiopia. Marginality hotspots are mapped by overlaying seven different indicators using Geographic Information System software. Results show that people in the South-West and in the North are most marginalized. Overlaying marginality hotspots with a map of agro-ecological belts shows that a large share of marginality hotspots is located in areas with low agricultural potential. Marginality is not bound to specific ethnic groups but ethnic fractionalization is significantly lower in marginality hotspots than in other areas.