Has Economic Growth in Mozambique Been Pro-Poor?
No hay miniatura disponible
Fecha
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Resumen
Descripción
Using 1996–97 and 2002–03 nationally representative household surveys, we
examine the extent to which growth in Mozambique has been pro-poor. While all
sections of society enjoyed a rapid annual increase in consumption between the sample
periods, the rate of growth in consumption was slightly higher for richer households.
This has led to a moderate increase in inequality at the national level, as demonstrated by
the rise in the Gini coefficient from 0.40 to 0.42. However, this slight increase in
inequality is not statistically significant, and its impact on poverty reduction efforts is
small: the poverty headcount would have been 53.0 percent in 2002–03 if all sections of
society had enjoyed the mean growth rate in consumption, compared with the 54.1
percent at which it actually stood. Interestingly, the use of the entropy class of inequality
measures indicates that inequality in real consumption between provinces and regions has
diminished over time, in contrast to popular claims. Maputo City continues to have the
highest rates of inequality in the country; it witnessed a significant increase in inequality
between 1996–97 and 2002–03 (the Gini coefficient rose from 0.44 to 0.52).