Inequality in the Distribution of Household Expenditure in Cameroon

Samuel Fambon

No 43, Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Frankfurt a.M. 2009 from Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics

Abstract: In the literature, it is generally accepted that consumption is a more appropriate welfare measure than household income or salaries. This paper aims to investigate the evolution of expenditure inequality in Cameroon over the 1984-1996 period, with the help of Lorenz Curves, the Gini coefficient, and two entropy measures of inequality. Total expenditure inequality is decomposed into the within-groups and between-groups components using Theil's decomposition techniques and household expenditure data derived from the 1984 and 1996 National household surveys (i.e. the 1983/1984 Household Consumption Budget (EBC) survey, and the 1996 Cameroonian Household Survey (ECAM1)). Decompositions are carried out according to the residence area (rural, semi-urban, and urban), stratum, age, educational level and the gender of the household head. Policy implications are discussed.

Keywords: Inequality; Expenditure; Decomposition; Household Surveys; Cameroon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:gdec09:43

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