Who Went Where...and Why

Abstract

Households in Zimbabwe are currently experiencing an ongoing series of multiple and complex shocks. In contrast with ‘conventional’ shocks such as droughts, which are usually singular in nature, the contemporary environment challenges households with, among other things, hyperinflation, an extreme and prolonged contraction of the economy, massive unemployment, a cholera pandemic, and politically motivated violence – all exacerbated by formidable failings in governance. In this setting, ‘traditional’ risk-sharing and insurance mechanisms have been taxed to their limits. In their efforts to avoid permanent loss of well-being, households have adopted, or had forced upon them, coping strategies in which mobility is a central element. This article is an exercise in empirical micro-demographics that explores patterns and consequences of population dynamics in rural Zimbabwe, beginning with the commercial farm invasions that were initiated in early 2000.