## 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](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/30/income-distribution-informal-safety-nets-and-social-expenditures-in-uganda-3352)

## Other formats

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## 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

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### 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.

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## Content in this bundle

- **Income Distribution , Informal Safety Nets, and Social Expenditures in Uganda - WP/99/163**
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/30/income-distribution-informal-safety-nets-and-social-expenditures-in-uganda-3352_