Vulnerability to famine has been generally explained by reference to failures of production and to failures of exchange, but neither is adequate to explain key aspects of the vulnerability of rural people to famine. Some of these problems are resolved by an analysis of the status and trends in household assets – investments and stocks of food and of value, and claims households and communities can exert on others, including the state. Taken together with production and exchange issues, the analysis points to better policies to reduce vulnerability.