TY - UNPB

T1 - Investigating growing inequality in Mozambique

AU - Gradín, Carlos

AU - Tarp, Finn

PY - 2017/12

Y1 - 2017/12

N2 - In this paper, we investigate the long-term trend of consumption inequality in Mozambique. We show that an imbalanced growth path disproportionally benefited the better-off and caused increasing inequality, especially in more recent years, curbing the necessary reduction in poverty.Using a regression decomposition technique, our results suggest that this trend was strongly associated with the higher attained education of household heads and with changes in the structure of the economy (with less workers in the public and subsistence sectors).The trend was, however, mitigated by the tendency for the higher level of attained education and the smaller public sector to become associated with less inequality over time. These results point to the importance of accelerating the expansion of education and improving the productivity of the large subsistence sector to lower inequality in line with the sustainable development goals.

AB - In this paper, we investigate the long-term trend of consumption inequality in Mozambique. We show that an imbalanced growth path disproportionally benefited the better-off and caused increasing inequality, especially in more recent years, curbing the necessary reduction in poverty.Using a regression decomposition technique, our results suggest that this trend was strongly associated with the higher attained education of household heads and with changes in the structure of the economy (with less workers in the public and subsistence sectors).The trend was, however, mitigated by the tendency for the higher level of attained education and the smaller public sector to become associated with less inequality over time. These results point to the importance of accelerating the expansion of education and improving the productivity of the large subsistence sector to lower inequality in line with the sustainable development goals.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - inequality

KW - Mozambique

KW - decomposition

KW - RIF

M3 - Working paper

T3 - UNU WIDER Working Paper Series

BT - Investigating growing inequality in Mozambique

ER -