Assets

Assets, be they physical, natural, social, financial or human are essential elements of household livelihoods.  As such, they represent the ability or inability of a household to engage in specific activities that can secure food and other basic needs. 

The number and combination of different assets owned by a household is often used as a proxy indicator for households’ wealth and, therefore, is related to household food security. A greater variety of current asset holdings usually indicates that a household has more purchasing power.  Moreover it signifies that the household has not been forced to sell assets in the past to meet household needs and that it may be able to buffer itself against shocks occurring in the future. 

However, not all assets are equal in terms of their utility to sustain household livelihoods.  Assets can be broadly categorized as productive and non-productive. Some assets have a greater inherent value than others insofar as they facilitate economic productivity (e.g. land, livestock, credit, tools) whereas others can be considered non-productive or basic assets as they relate more to living standards (e.g., beds, tables, televisions).