Historical matrices: a method for monitoring changes in seasonal consumption patterns in Mongolia

Wide-ranging agrarian reforms in Mongolia have led to a change in patterns of consumption. Most important of these reforms has been the dismantling of the collectivised state which formerly organised livestock and livestock product marketing, as well as the supply of flour and other food items and consumer goods. This note reports on the use of matrices as a tool for evaluating the impact of economic liberalisation on consumption patterns among Mongolian pastoral communities. The consumption matrices of a rich household and a poor household indicate that consumption patterns have changed significantly during the five years since privatisation and decollectivisation.