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Non-farm income, gender, and inequality: evidence from rural Ghana and Uganda

Published by: Elsevier

Authored by: Canagarajah, S; Newman, C; Bhattamishra, R

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

This paper examines how the distribution of earnings in rural Ghana and Uganda differs by income type and by gender. We find that non-farm earnings contribute to rising inequality, but that lower income groups also benefit due to strong overall growth in non-farm earnings. The inequality-inducing effect is driven by self-employment income; wage income, on the other hand, reduces inequality. The tendency of non-farm income to contribute to inequality is greater among female-headed households for whom self-employment is important and non-farm opportunities more constrained. Determinants of non-farm income are estimated and appear to be strongly related to location, education, age, and distance to market. Estimates of the linkages to agriculture in Ghana are weaker than expected, showing the non-farm sector to be functioning more as an alternative activity to agriculture than as a complement. 


Research Detail
Non-farm income, gender, and inequality: evidence from rural Ghana and Uganda
Published by: Elsevier
Authored by: Canagarajah, S; Newman, C; Bhattamishra, R
Journal Name: Food Policy
Publication Date: Jan 1st, 2001