A recent ACEIR review of research on African inequality motivates that acquiring an understanding of inequality dynamics “is key to sustainable anti-poverty policy that leverages the maximum anti-poverty benefit out of economic growth and making growth more inclusive”.
This undertaking – of contributing to the empirical evidence base to enhance our understanding of African inequalities – shapes this research theme on the interactions of inequalities, multidimensional poverty, and growth; and the implications of these for policies on inclusive development in Africa.
Similar to ACEIR’s other research themes, gender inequality dynamics cut across the projects and studies that fall within this theme.
Projects and studies
African inequality diagnostics
Measuring, tracking, and analysing inequality in Africa are critical components of understanding the global inequality picture. Such research is also crucial for policy interventions and civil society action to reduce inequality. But it is a complex undertaking that requires consideration of the varying nature, levels, and shifts in inequality between African countries as well as within countries. Challenges of reliable and comparable country data for different time periods add to the complexity. ACEIR contributes to this field of enquiry via an international project to develop inequality diagnostic tools and provide capacity building. The main objective of this project is to summarise existing knowledge on the inequality trends in different African countries by using available national survey data; and to take stock of future data needs to help inform policies to overcome inequality. Read more
Measuring multidimensional poverty in Kenya across time and space
Measuring progress towards reaching the different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is essential for holding governments accountable for their efforts towards sustainable development that leaves no one behind. This study tracks Kenya’s progress in reducing poverty between 2014 and 2022 by using a customised set of indicators from a multidimensional framework that encompasses different facets of the SDGs. Based on the findings, the researchers reflect on different poverty reduction programmes that can lessen the intensity of multidimensional poverty in Kenya. Read more
Assessing different methods of poverty measurement in Kenya
Income and consumption expenditures are traditionally used as indicators of the socioeconomic welfare of individuals and households. But other measures of poverty are needed because of challenges in the collection of data on income and expenses. As research shows a high correlation between asset poverty and monetary poverty, asset-based measures can be a useful substitute to measure poverty. Using data from the Kenya demographic and health surveys, this study assesses methods of poverty measurement and investigates what differences arise in poverty measurement once asset-based measures are extended beyond the poverty headcount. It also highlights the importance of gauging the internal reliability of the indicators used in poverty measurement. Read more
Impact of taxation and social spending on inequality and poverty
This project undertook a series of tax and expenditure benefit incidence exercises in partnership with the Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Institute, Tulane University. Studies using the CEQ methodology have been completed in a wide array of low and middle-income countries in all regions of the world and have been shown to be excellent tools for policy engagement about poverty and inequality. The ACEIR studies focused on Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Read more
The Maputo Protocol: Assessing the impact of continental agreements on gender rights in Africa
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (commonly, the Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights) is a legal mandate of the African Union to enable gender equality initiatives on the continent. The goal of gender equality depends on the protocol’s translation into national legislation and operationalisation for effective implementation. Twenty years after the protocol was adopted, ACEIR researchers surveyed the degree of implementation of the protocol into national laws in African countries by describing the progress in providing comprehensive legal protection to women and girls on the continent. Read more
Inequality in sub-Saharan Africa: A review
This review was not meant to be exhaustive, but rather an exercise in connecting the dots in the collective understanding of the nature of African inequality, and the direction in which inequality research on (and in) Africa is moving. It also took a step towards sensibly splicing African inequality dynamics into the discussion of global inequality. Read more