Income Distribution, Informal Safety Nets, and Social Expenditures in Uganda
IMF Working Papers, December 1, 1999
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Income Distribution, Informal Safety Nets, and Social Expenditures in Uganda
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Authors: Calvin A McDonald, Christian Schiller, Kenichi Ueda
- Published: December 1, 1999
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451857917.001
Summary
- Inequality in Uganda rose during 1989–95, although this rise moderated in 1993–95.
- In 1993–95, real food consumption became more equal.
- Regional and urban-rural disparities in income and variations in income accruing to individuals with different educational levels principally explain “between group inequality.”
- Informal safety nets appear to work for Ugandan middle-class families, but a lack of mutual insurance among poor production workers and farmers accentuates the inequality trends.
- An expansion of formal safety nets would help this segment of the population.
- The intrasectoral allocation and benefit incidence of expenditures on education and health can be improved to reduce inequality.
Key findings and diagnostics
- Temporal trends:
- Inequality increased during 1989–95.
- The increase moderated in 1993–95.
- Real food consumption became more equal in 1993–95.
- Drivers of between-group inequality:
- Regional disparities.
- Urban-rural disparities.
- Variations in income by educational level.
- Role of informal safety nets:
- Effective for middle-class families.
- Insufficient mutual insurance for poor production workers and farmers, amplifying inequality.
Policy recommendations and implications
- Expand formal safety nets to support poor production workers and farmers.
- Improve the intrasectoral allocation and benefit incidence of expenditures on education and health to reduce inequality.
Content in this bundle
- Income Distribution , Informal Safety Nets, and Social Expenditures in Uganda - WP/99/163