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The importance of remittances for the level and distribution of economic well‐being in lesotho
Author(s) -
Gustafsson Björn,
Makonnen Negatu
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3380060403
Subject(s) - inequality , economics , distribution (mathematics) , population , demographic economics , development economics , economic inequality , socioeconomics , geography , economic growth , demography , sociology , mathematics , mathematical analysis
Using the 1986/87 Household Budget Survey of Lesotho, we measure the extent of inequality, identify the determinants of economic well‐being and decompose total inequality by population subgroups. The results show large inequality in economic well‐being. Many households in Lesotho are heavily dependent on miners' remittances from the Republic of South Africa. In the study we quantify their effects on the level of well‐being and the extent of inequality. It is concluded that remittances decrease inequality in Lesotho. A regional analysis shows that, in comparison to urban areas, the effects of remittances are both in terms of average economic well‐being and inequality larger for rural areas, although the magnitudes of the effects vary within the rural part.