Is Inequality in Africa Really Different?

High inequality in Africa is something of a paradox: Africa should be a low-inequality continent according to the Kuznets hypothesis (because African countries are poor and agriculture-based), and also because land (the main asset) is widely shared. The author's hypothesis is that African inequality is politically determined. Yet in the empirical analysis, despite the introduction of several political variables, there is still an inequality-increasing "Africa effect" linked to ethnic fractionalization. The politics, however, may work through ethnic fractionalization, which provides an easy and secure basis for the formation of political groups. Although this is a plausible explanation, it is not fully satisfactory, and the author criticizes it in the concluding section.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Milanovic, Branko
Format: Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2003-11
Subjects:AGRICULTURE, AVERAGE INCOME, DATA SET, DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, ECONOMIC DECLINE, ECONOMIC FACTORS, EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS, GDP, GINI COEFFICIENT, GROWTH PERFORMANCE, HIGH INEQUALITY, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, INCOME, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME LEVEL, INCOME LEVELS, INEQUALITY, INEQUALITY DATA, INEQUALITY LEVELS, INEQUALITY MEASURES, LAND OWNERSHIP, MINERAL RESOURCES, NATIONAL INCOME, NATURAL RESOURCES, PER CAPITA INCOMES, POINT, POOR, POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP, REAL INCOME, TAXATION, WEST INEQUITY, ETHNIC RELATIONS, ETHNIC CONFLICTS, POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT, INCOME INEQUALITIES, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, PARTY AFFILIATION,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/11/2856986/inequality-africa-really-different-inequality-africa-really-different
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17906
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