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Fiscal Policy, Redistribution and Inequality in Africa

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  • Odusola, Ayodele
Abstract
Over the past five decades, substantial attention has been placed on the role of economic growth in reducing poverty. This is premised on the trickle-down effect of long-term economic growth on poverty and inequality, based on Simon Kuznets’ theory. However, evidence across the world has shown that high economic growth and rapid reduction in poverty do not automatically translate into accelerated reduction in inequality (Stiglitz, 2015; Reid-Henry, 2015; Piketty, 2015). China and Rwanda provide some good examples of the lack of trickle-down effect on inequality where rapid economic growth has been accompanied by rising income inequality. The global inequality crisis – where the richest 1 per cent of the world’s population has more wealth than the rest of the world combined – has disproved Kuznets’ theory and has further questioned the efficacy of fiscal policies in promoting economic efficiency and development effectiveness.

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  • Odusola, Ayodele, 2017. "Fiscal Policy, Redistribution and Inequality in Africa," UNDP Africa Reports 267032, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:undpar:267032
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.267032
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Andres Irarrazaval, 2022. "The Fiscal Origins of Comparative Inequality levels: An Empirical and Historical Investigation," Working Papers wp531, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    2. Irarrázaval, Andrés, 2020. "The fiscal origins of comparative inequality levels: an empirical and historical investigation," Economic History Working Papers 107491, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    3. Chancel, Lucas & Cogneau, Denis & Gethin, Amory & Myczkowski, Alix & Robilliard, Anne-Sophie, 2023. "Income inequality in Africa, 1990–2019: Measurement, patterns, determinants," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. Abdulaleem Isiaka & Alexander Mihailov & Giovanni Razzi, 2022. "Reallocating Government Spending to Reduce Income Inequality: Panel Data Evidence from the Middle-Income Countries," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2022-08, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    5. Manwar Hossein Malla & Pairote Pathranarakul, 2022. "Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality: The Critical Role of Institutional Capacity," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Irarrázaval, Andrés, 2020. "The fiscal origins of comparative inequality levels: an empirical and historical investigation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107491, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Ayodele Odusola, "undated". "Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa in the context of complex global development cooperation," UNDP Africa Research Discussion Papers 307329, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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