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How polarized is sub-Saharan Africa? A look at the regional distribution of consumption expenditure in the 2000s

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  • Fabio Clementi
  • Michele Fabiani
  • Vasco Molini

Abstract

The resurgence of economic growth over the last two decades in sub-Saharan Africa has recently come under scrutiny by scholars, the main criticism being the lack of inclusiveness. While studies on inequality in sub-Saharan Africa are becoming numerous, less attention has been devoted so far to the growing polarization the region is undergoing. Polarization, as distinct from inequality, refers to the tendency of shifting away from the centre of a distribution to its tails, creating a hollowed-out middle. This paper, using a set of sub-Saharan African national household surveys, provides a first estimate of the regional expenditures’ polarization. This latter steadily increased throughout the 2000s and its growth was mainly driven by increasing polarization between countries, meaning sub-Saharan Africa tended to polarize spatially, with the Southern cone countries and some Western African countries performing above the average, and the rest of the region lagging behind.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabio Clementi & Michele Fabiani & Vasco Molini, 2021. "How polarized is sub-Saharan Africa? A look at the regional distribution of consumption expenditure in the 2000s," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 73(2), pages 796-819.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:73:y:2021:i:2:p:796-819.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oep/gpaa020
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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Clementi & Vasco Molini & Francesco Schettino & Haider A. Khan & Michele Fabiani, 2023. "Polarization and its discontents: Morocco before and after the Arab Spring," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(1), pages 105-129, March.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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