Social policy agenda could be seen as an integral part of the nation’s economy contributing to economic growth, equity and sustainability and should not be treated as competing with economic resources. Elderly households are the neglected citizens in the socio-economic changes of many African countries including Ethiopia. They are forced to live in economically poor and precarious conditions. In light of this, this research aimed to study the determinants of self employment of the elderly households and existing gender differences within the group. A simple random sampling of 272 households was selected proportional to their size in the study area purposively. The data involved both econometric and descriptive analysis. The study revealed that substantial number of the elderly households were engaged in income generating works equally with other citizens of the people in the area; at the same time indicating that a significant number from the group require further support/assistance to cope up with the highly competitive living condition. Educational status (literacy level), credit use, asset ownership, age and health status of the households are the significant variables that affected participation in income generating activities of the elderly households. The proportion of participation of female households is higher in the group. The study recommends support on enhancing their educational level, health condition and provision of credit to increase their engagement in income generating activities for the healthy (able to work) persons; and provision of a continuous assistance for the remaining households that are in bad health condition.

Keywords: Self-employment, Income Generating Activities, participation decision, Elderly and Logit model