Income inequality in Africa, 1990–2019: Measurement, patterns, determinants
Lucas Chancel
(1, 2, 3)
,
Denis Cogneau
(1, 2, 3, 4)
,
Amory Gethin
(1, 3)
,
Alix Myczkowski
(1, 3)
,
Anne-Sophie Robilliard
(1, 3, 4)
Lucas Chancel
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1198834
- IdHAL : lucas-chancel
- ORCID : 0000-0002-8803-3186
Denis Cogneau
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 743084
- IdHAL : denis-cogneau
- ORCID : 0000-0002-4355-2150
- IdRef : 030226244
Résumé
This article estimates the evolution of income inequality in Africa from 1990 to 2019 by combining surveys, tax data, and national accounts. Inequality in Africa is very high: the regional top 10% income share nears 55%, on par with regions characterized by extreme inequality, such as Latin America and India. Most of continent-wide income inequality comes from the within-country component rather than from average income differences between countries. Inequality is highest in Southern Africa and lowest in Northern and Western Africa. It remained fairly stable from 1990 to 2019, with the exception of Southern Africa, where it increased significantly. Among historical determinants, this geographical pattern seems to reveal the long shadow of settler colonialism, at least in Sub-Saharan Africa; the spread of Islam stands out as another robust correlate. The poor quality of the raw data calls for great caution, in particular when analyzing country-level dynamics.
Domaines
Economies et financesFormat du dépôt | Notice |
---|---|
Type de dépôt | Article dans une revue |
Titre |
en
Income inequality in Africa, 1990–2019: Measurement, patterns, determinants
|
Résumé |
en
This article estimates the evolution of income inequality in Africa from 1990 to 2019 by combining surveys, tax data, and national accounts. Inequality in Africa is very high: the regional top 10% income share nears 55%, on par with regions characterized by extreme inequality, such as Latin America and India. Most of continent-wide income inequality comes from the within-country component rather than from average income differences between countries. Inequality is highest in Southern Africa and lowest in Northern and Western Africa. It remained fairly stable from 1990 to 2019, with the exception of Southern Africa, where it increased significantly. Among historical determinants, this geographical pattern seems to reveal the long shadow of settler colonialism, at least in Sub-Saharan Africa; the spread of Islam stands out as another robust correlate. The poor quality of the raw data calls for great caution, in particular when analyzing country-level dynamics.
|
Auteur(s) |
Lucas Chancel
1, 2, 3
, Denis Cogneau
1, 2, 3, 4
, Amory Gethin
1, 3
, Alix Myczkowski
1, 3
, Anne-Sophie Robilliard
1, 3, 4
1
PSE -
Paris School of Economics
( 301309 )
- 48 boulevard Jourdan 75014 Paris
- France
2
PJSE -
Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques
( 578027 )
- 48 boulevard Jourdan 75014 Paris
- France
3
WIL -
World Inequality Lab
( 1006727 )
- 48 boulevard Jourdan 75014 Paris
- France
4
LEDa -
Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine
( 559342 )
- Place du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny - 75775 PARIS Cedex 16
- France
|
Langue du document |
Anglais
|
Nom de la revue |
|
Vulgarisation |
Non
|
Comité de lecture |
Oui
|
Audience |
Internationale
|
Date de publication |
2023-03
|
Volume |
163
|
Page/Identifiant |
106162
|
Public visé |
Scientifique
|
Domaine(s) |
|
Projet(s) ANR |
|
Mots-clés |
en
Inequality, Poverty, Africa, Distributional national accounts, Colonialism
|
DOI | 10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106162 |
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