ANÁLISIS INTERNO

It is widely recognised in the literature that household assets are important for household resilience and food security. Assets can improve a household’s ability to withstand shocks and stresses and thereby help maintain food security (Chambers and Conway 1992; Maxwell and Smith 1992; Carney 1998; Rakodi 1999; Gundersen and Gruber 2001; Keil et al. 2008; Yusuf 2008; Lampis 2009: Kalaba et al. 2013; Green

28 | P a g e and Haines. 2015; d’Errico et al. 2018; Manlosa et al. 2019).

Five kinds of assets are identified in the literature (DFID 2000; Scoones 1998). These include natural capital, physical capital, financial capital, human capital and social capital (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3 Type of household assets

Source: (Scoones 1998; DFID 2000).

Natural capital (NC): refers to the natural resource stocks which people can draw on for their living, such as land, livestock, forests, water (DFID 2000; Guerry et al. 2015). Several studies confirmed that household ownership of land and livestock had positive associations with household resilience and food security (Olson 1999; Turner et al. 2003; Carter et al. 2006; Olte et al. 2019; Manlosa et al. 2019).

Many studies found the important role of livestock to food security and vulnerability (Hendrickson et al. 1998; Thornton et al. 2007; Megersa et al. 2014 Marshall et al. 2018; Alonso et al. 2019). However, the type of ‘natural capital’ that is important for household resilience tends to vary from place to place. For example, a recent study on rural livelihoods in South Africa conducted by Mbiba et al. (2019) mentioned that the

Household Assets Natural Capital Finacial Capital Human Capital Social Capital Physical Capital

29 | P a g e most important natural assets are the communal land used for grazing, livestock and cultivation and harvesting natural resources.

In another context of food security and resilience Hanazaki et al. (2013), for example, studied natural assets that were important among household livelihood assets in Caiçara of Coastal Brazil. They did this by analysing food production as natural capital; their questions were asked about household production for some food items which were directly used for household consumption or sale, such as fish, shellfish, bitter manioc, bananas and other fruits.

Another example on the impact of a natural resource on food security in Kenya saw crops, livestock and soils were the most important natural resources that affected household food security in the country. Stephens et al. (2012) show in their findings that larger and higher quality land will provide more accumulation of cash and livestock resources to households which suggests the availability of asset thresholds that divide households to food-secure households and food-insecure ones. Their data include survey information on household assets, key livestock nutrition indicators, such as productivity and herd size, as well as data on the types and quality of land soil. It is therefore important to identify the specific assets important for Libya.

Physical capital (PC): according to DFID (2000), physical capital defines as: “…the basic infrastructure that people need to make a living, as well as the tools and equipment that they use — for example, transport and communication systems, shelter, water and sanitation systems, and energy…” (DFID 2000, p. 1).

Several studies have revealed that physical capital, such as infrastructure, market access and durable consumer goods inside the house, include phones, radio, TV, fridge, blender, stereo, washing machine, DVD, computer, electric/gas cooker, oven, microwave, vacuum or floor polisher, water heater and transportation vehicles such as a car, truck and motorcycle. Moreover, physical capital also refers to the household’s ownership of housing and buildings such as ownership of a house, apartment, rents in someone’s home or building etc. (see Rakodi 1999; González et al. 2010; Vincent and

30 | P a g e Cull 2010; Mbukwa 2014; Thulstrup 2015; Manlosa et al. 2019).

In most previous studies household physical capital was measured using durable consumer goods and indicators of housing quality. However, most of these previous studies are based on the household livelihood and sustainability approach and non- conflict contexts; they are not focused on household food insecurity resilience. Hence, this study will identify the physical capital in the context of conflicts and food insecurity resilience.

Financial capital (FC): refers to financial assets, such as income, loans and savings, in terms of access to earned income, and access to pensions and other transfers from the state (Thulstrup 2015; Quandt 2018). Many researchers find that household financial capital is an important factor in resilience. Gundersen and Gruber (2001) state that households with low income and savings are more likely to be vulnerable to shocks and stress and enter into food insecurity. Sharaunga et al. (2016) found that increased access to different sources of income is very important for household resilience and reduces the risks of food insecurity during times of sudden shocks. Kiewisch (2015) also points out multiple income resources can be useful to deal with negative impacts of a ‘lean season’ before the cocoa harvest, which most of the households faced in West African countries. The author confirmed that financial capital is vital in reducing the cost of living and depends on other sources. Similarly, Mutabazi et al. (2015) stated that financial capital such as cash, credit and so on, helps the recovery after a climate change shocks and increase the ability of households to withstand the shocks and stresses, as well as enhance the resilience of farm households in Morogoro city in Tanzania.

However, Jewitt and Baker. (2012) stated that the influence of socio-economic factors on risk perception is still underdeveloped. The authors concluded that household risk to food insecurity perceptions and responses vary greatly with socio-economic status e.g. the age, gender and the spatial or temporal distance of the risk.

Nevertheless, these empirical studies were not about conflict-related shocks, not about food security outcomes and mostly from outside the MENA regions.

31 | P a g e Human capital (HC): defined as an individual’s investment in training that increases his or her productivity and therewith earns a money return (Becker 2009). Household human capital also refers to the knowledge, skills, good health, and the ability to work (Mutabazi et al. 2015; Quandt 2018).

Light (2004), cited that household human capital just like financial capital assets or vice versa, the owners of human capital can be transformed into financial capital. For example, when household members have committed to the success level of skills or work during high demand times, that will be transformed into money and a source of income. This interaction of the different assets is a significant part of household resilience against shocks.

Two main indicators including household health status and level of household head education were the most important variables in the household livelihood index indicators collected through a household survey in Ghana (Antwi-Agyei et al. 2013). Qureshi et al. (2015) found that education is one of the most important factors that affect a household’s food security status. For example, education can help household members who are employed and give them opportunities to increase household income. Furthermore, education not only provides a very significant role in household knowledge of safety and healthy nutrition, including how to obtain sufficient caloric quantity but also can be enhanced by a good understanding of the willingness to have a healthy, clean, sustainable, food nutritious life for all household members (Misselhorn 2009).

Social capital (SC): ‘social capital’ refers to the social nets in which people participate and from which they can get help (Rakodi 1999). It emphasises the way people interact with each other and with systems within their communities to achieve their livelihood outcomes (Carney 1998; Rakodi 2014). Examples include networks and connections (neighbourhoods, patronage and kinship), relations of trust and shared understanding and support, with groups, shared values and activities, standard rules and sanctions, co-operative representation, strategies for participation in decision-making and management (Harpham et al. 2002; O’Brien et al. 2005; Gong et al. 2018).

32 | P a g e capital), bonding social capital refers to cooperative relations within homogeneous groups while bridging social capital describes relations between people who are dissimilar with respect to social identity and power (Villalonga-Olives and Kawachi 2015). Whereas tribal social networks are defined as lines of transmission of information and material as per lines of cooperation, communication and exchange roles, that are evident among individuals and groups (Braun and Plog 1982).

Many authors have drawn attention to the critical role that social capital plays in sustainable livelihood and food security (Grootaert 1999; Woolcock and Narayan 2000; Lamidi 2019; Gebrekidan et al. 2019). Most previous studies identify the positive feature of social capital on household resilience which ensures assistance, care and creates a sense of safety and welfare, it was clear that social capital commonly increases when households face shocks and become vulnerable (Ledogar and Fleming 2008; Nombo and Niehof 2008; Alinovi and Romano 2009; Carpenter et al. 2012; Hayhurst et al. 2013; Fan et al. 2014; Pelletier et al. 2016; Smith and Frankenberger 2018). Some other studies found that social capital does not always play a positive role in household resilience. For example, exclusion of outsider groups, restrictions on people’s freedoms, and creating norms of racism, such as cultural norms of discrimination or violence (Portes 1998; Spring 2011; Ledogar and Fleming 2008). However, the literature does not mention the role of tribal-based social capital, which can be important for countries within the MENA region. This study will determine the role of social capital types in the conflict-affected country (Libya) and identify the effect of these roles on household resilience.