Rural Income Inequality in Mozambique: National Dynamics and Local Experiences

Abstract: This study examines the drivers of income inequality in a rural, developing economy. The analysis uses data from a national longitudinal survey of rural households and a case study in Mozambique’s Limpopo River Basin and to investigate how economic integration affects income inequality within environmentally-embedded economies. Decomposition of the Gini coefficient finds increasing inequality of agricultural income at the national level. Qualitative findings suggest that economic change pressures smallholders to abandon traditional agricultural strategies, which increases environmental risk and contributes to higher inequality. Results indicate changing environmental-economic trade-offs are one mechanism behind rising inequality in rural societies integrating into the global economy