Author: Arne Bigsten / Topic: Economics

Author:: Abebe Shimeles and Arne Bigsten
Publication Date:: 07-2004
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper examines trends in income distribution and its linkages to economic growth and poverty reduction in order to understand the prospects for achieving poverty reduction in Africa. We examine the levels and trends in income distribution in some African countries and calculate pro-poor growth indices. Different growth patterns are simulated for Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, and South Africa. We conclude that the balance between policies aimed at growth and measures aimed at redistribution should depend on the elasticity of the growth-equity tradeoff. We also discuss what the appropriate ingredients of a pro-poor strategy would be in the African setting.
Topic:: Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Uganda, Africa, South Africa, Mozambique, and Ethiopia

Author:: Abebe Shimeles and Arne Bigsten
Publication Date:: 06-2004
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper addresses issues related to the dynamics of income poverty using unique household panel data for urban and rural areas of Ethiopia covering the period 1994-97. The percentage of households that remained in poverty was twice as large in urban areas as in rural areas. This suggests that income variability is a serious problem in rural areas, while the persistence is a key feature of urban poverty. The paper also discusses household characteristics that are correlated with the incidence of chronic poverty as well as vulnerability to poverty. A strategy that promotes consumption smoothing through say access to credit can work well in rural areas, while income or employment generation are required for poverty alleviation in urban areas.
Topic:: Economics, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

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