Despite a significant progress in Vietnam in terms of growth, poverty reduction and even inequality reduction, efforts on inequality and human development issues still need to be done.

In Vietnam, nearly 30 million people have been lifted above the official poverty line over the last three decades, and the country's human development index (HDI) has risen significantly. However, data shows that income inequality in Vietnam has increased over the last two decades. According to the World Bank, the Gini index rose from 35.7 to 38.7 from 1992 to 2012. Besides, in 2014, there were 210 super-rich individuals in the country whose combined wealth stood around $20bn, which is equivalent to 12% of the country's GDP. In fact, according to Oxfam-Vietnam calculations, the richest man in Vietnam earns more in a day than the poorest Vietnamese earns in 10 years.

This project is part of the first phase of the Research Facility on Inequalities, coordinated by AFD and funded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships over the 2017-2020 period. The first phase of the Facility has led to the conduct of 22 research projects and the publication of around 100 research papers and policy briefs.

The goal is to adopt a multidimensional approach to provide convincing analysis on inequality. This will focus especially on inequality of opportunities and voice in order to use this as a process to engage with relevant stakeholders, especially in the debates on policy options to tackle inequality, and in mid-term to use the MIF as a way to influence monitoring of SDG 10 in the country.

The specific goals are as follows:

• The "Oxfam Vietnam Inequality Framework" is developed, piloted and adopted to the Vietnamese context;
• The OVIF is used as a tool to enhance in-depth understanding on multiple dimensions of inequality (paying special attention to inequality in voices and opportunity) and identify concrete policy gaps to tackle inequality in Vietnam;

The OVIF research findings and methodology are shared with policy makers, research institutes, and other development institutions.

The Multidimensional Inequality Framework is designed to capture the multidimensional nature of inequality, which is experienced across a number of 7 life domains, and that there are many different forms of inequality (such as concentrations of wealth, pay gaps, dispersion of income, social gradients in mortality, and greater social isolation experienced by the elderly). Within each of the 7 life domains, the framework offers a series of sub-domains and a number of indicators and measures which can be used to measure and monitor multidimensional inequality in a given context. Many of the indicators and measures suggested under each subdomain are related to the SDGs framework, which governments are already committed to monitor. This can be a useful element to guarantee at least a minimum level of data availability in all countries. Besides, the Oxfam Inequality Toolkit, which is a key companion for the practical implementation of the MIF in a given context, suggests several global databases, aside from national household surveys, to be used by teams willing to implement the framework.

The research findings point at persisting, critical inequalities across several life domains.  After conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, the research identifies large gaps between subpopulation groups across spatial, socio-economic, and ethnic axes of inequality in their capability to enjoy the right to a proper, quality education and to experience a life free of illness and access to quality healthcare facilities. People belonging to ethnic minorities (EM), women, and people living in rural provinces are more affected by inequalities in health and education than the Kihn, men, and higher-income households living in predominantly urban areas. 

Furthermore, inequality in the capability to participate, raise one’s voice, and influence public matters is extremely acute between men and women and the poorest households, with a lower level of education, compared to the richest, urban, highly educated households. 

You may find the research paper and the policy brief here:

• Research paper: Multidimensional inequality in Vietnam
• Policy brief: Multidimensional inequality in Vietnam

 

Please find the presentation of the report "Multidimensional Inequalities in Vietnam” by Vu Thi Quynh Hoa (Head of Campaign & Advocacy in Oxfam Vietnam) and Dr. Phuong Duc Tung (Director of the Mekong Development Research Institute) during the second webinar of the AFD Research Conversations:

Contact:

• Anda David, Research Officer, AFD

The picture within Africa is more complex, and often obscured by problems with unreliable and non-comparable data, both over time and across countries. The most careful African data analysis suggests that, measured in monetary terms, African inequality is very high, Africa being the most unequal continent. There is, however, huge variation in the magnitude, changes and texture of this inequality across the continent.

This implies a double danger. Africa first needs to ensure that it is included in the international measurements. At least as importantly, the continent must also ensure that the particular contexts of its societies are considered in the analysis both of the factors causing inequality and the consequences of inequality. This analysis is absolutely crucial because it is the basis for policy interventions and civil society action, which are necessary to reverse the trend. 

Given this context, a research project focusing on the development of diagnostic tools and capacity building was launched in partnership with the African Center of Excellence on Inequality Research (ACEIR) in the framework of the first phase of the Research Facility on Inequalities. The initial study (2018-2020) led to an in-depth analysis of inequalities in four countries: South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire. A Handbook on Inequality Measurement, which serves as a foundational guide for multidimensional inequality analysis, was also developed by ACEIR. The Handbook outlines key dimensions and indicators of inequality and provides guildelines for measuring income and beyond income inequalities.

Following the success of this research project:

• A fifth analysis was launched in Mozambique over the 2022-2024 period;
• A research project aming to expand and update the Handbook by incorporating methodologies for assessing vulnerabilities related to climate change and ecological transitions has also been launched over the 2024-2025 period.

The main objective of this research project was to advance the analysis of African inequality and the policy discussion on strategies to overcome inequality in Africa through a series of country-level engagements. The project was given structure and impetus through the development of a diagnostic tool that was implemented in a limited number of pilot countries. This diagnostic tool consists of a thorough analysis of the various inequalities in a given country which enables the government to identify the priorities and policy options in order to reduce them.

In order to build the diagnostic tool, a Handbook was also developed to set up a common base which enabled country comparisons. To extend its use and improve accountability, it was backed with a central data hub and strong data centres in each partner country that allowed and facilitated further inequality analysis.

Existing multidimensional inequality analyses primarily concentrate on examining inequalities within the social and economic domains. While many low-income countries are severely impacted by climate change, there is a notable research gap in the analysis of inequalities related to climate vulnerabilities and their interactions with other socio-economic and environmental factors. The extension and updating of the Handbook, carried out over the period 2024-2025, aims to address this gap and provide the guidelines for integrating the analysis of climate-related inequalities in future diagnostics.

The diagnostic tool is based on three pillars :

1. a conceptual and empirical review of the studies on inequality in Africa, allowing us to have a baseline for the development of future projects, as well as a better comprehension of the specificities of inequalities in Africa and of their measurement;
2. a Handbook which contains the framework proposed for the country inequality diagnostics, the methodological issues around the measurement of inequalities and their analysis and the important issues linked to policies;
3. the support to the implementation of the country diagnostic, in collaboration with the pilot countries’ local research teams and the creation of the data hub.

In order to expand and update the Handbook, researchers will thoroughly examine and synthesise existing literature that addresses the measurement and analysis of climate-related vulnerabilities. This approach will help identify gaps in current research and propose a minimal set of indicators for measuring vulnerabilities linked to climate change and the imperatives of the ecological transition and detail appropriate data and measurement methods to enable their inclusion as part of an inequality diagnostic report.  

In practical terms, the country diagnostic takes the form of a report which overviews the inequality within a country, across all relevant dimensions, for a given time and over time. Alongside this, it summarises the main policies passed, or in place, expected to have an impact on inequalities. Each country will use their diagnostic as a platform:

• for policy engagements on strategies to overcome inequality,
• for the stimulation of national dialogue and a national research focus on inequality,
• to lead the national discussion through further, high impact research papers from the country node on inequality.

• Anda David, Research Officer, AFD
• Rawane Yasser, Junior Research Officer, AFD

In 2015, the level of access to “improved” water services in Bolivian cities was 97%, while that of wastewater treatment services was limited to 61%. Beyond these general data, the available data on the rates of access to water-supply services does not necessarily reveal other types of urban inequality related to water. Such inequality concerns not just technical access to the network, which, incidentally, is easily recognizable on a servicing map.

They also involve, for example, the question of inequality linked to payment for the service. This type of data is more difficult to obtain, because it is linked to household composition, usage practices, consumption level, and of course income. Another type of inequality arises from the nature of the service provider. The public water service is not the only form of provision of service in cities: there are also small socio-technical systems decentralized at the neighborhood level, which sometimes substitute for the main system or provide supplementary service. They generally offer basic service of acceptable quality and with lower rates, but require active participation by users in collective maintenance work. In addition, a new aspect of inequality is related to the location of some households more exposed than others to the weakness of the main system. This phenomenon was clearly seen during the 2016 water crisis in La Paz, whose southern neighborhoods were deprived of water service for several weeks. Other factors of inequality can be identified, such as the political tendency or social-mobilization capacity of some networks. These factors can sometimes act as real comparative advantages that can sometimes constitute real comparative advantages in the priorities of access to water services and sanitation.

This project is part of the first phase of the Research Facility on Inequalities, coordinated by AFD and funded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships over the 2017-2020 period. The first phase of the Facility has led to the conduct of 22 research projects and the publication of around 100 research papers and policy briefs.

This research project is being led by a multidisciplinary team under the coordination of CIDES-UMSA. It seeks to examine and analyze the various types of inequality linked to water and sanitation services in La Paz-El Alto, as well as their trends in recent years, above and beyond the typical determinants such as income (vertical inequalities) and localization (spatial inequalities). In fact, the researchers are also interested in other, less-studied types of determinants, such as exposure to climate change, social representations, and political resources, all of which can affect social cohesion. The objective is to obtain a new interpretation of urban inequalities in La Paz-El Alto, in order to fuel dialog with municipal and sectoral authorities.

This project also seeks to support Bolivian research, through training, methodology workshops, and participation in international conferences, etc.

This research project follows a multi-disciplinary and multi-theme approach that combines qualitative field surveys covering different areas of the two cities, on key subjects related to i) inequality in water services (trends in services on the urban fringe, small-scale systems, socio-political resources in neighborhoods, shared uses of water in the city, etc.), ii) historical analyses (how inequality in the services started), and iii) statistical analyses. The approach also involves working in connection with the municipal research services. The results from these different surveys and analyses will be discussed regularly at workshops for sharing experiences.

Find the presentation of the research paper “Inequalities related to urban water services in La Paz-El Alto, Bolivia” by Sarah Botton (AFD research officer) and Patricia Urquieta (CIDES-UMSA researcher) during the third webinar of the Research Facility on Inequalities:

You may find the research papers linked to this project here:

• An overview of inequalities in urban water services in Bolivia
• Conflicts and tensions over water ownership in the territory of the urban-rural interface of Hampaturi, municipality of La Paz
• When governance fails: institutional asymmetries in water management in the municipality of La Paz
• Landscape of springs and collective outdoor laundries in the city of La Paz
• The ‘urbanization of water’ in La Paz, Bolivia: historical and conceptual perspectives
• Persistence of inequality in access to water: a look at the actions of women in peri-urban territories of the city of El Alto
• Territorial inequalities expressed in children's health in two neighborhoods with access to water in the city of El Alto
• Corporate citizenship and water urbanization on the outskirts of El Alto

You may find the policy briefs here:

• Springs and collective laundries in the City of La Paz, notes for their management
• Access to water : persistence of inequalities in the life of women
• Municipal planning and inter-institutional coordination for good water management
• Water and Sanitation works with Neighborhood Participation: regulated and transparent
• Water provision and management of urban-rural interface territories
• Water in the city of El Alto, a right that arrives incomplete

Contact:

• Sarah Botton, Research Officer, AFD
• Patricia Urquieta, CIDES-UMSA

Contactos:

• Sarah Botton, coordinadora de investigación en la AFD
• Patricia Urquieta, profesora-investigadora CIDES-UMSA

The inauguration of President Ramaphosa in February 2018 has offered the country an opportunity to put the South African project of Nelson Mandela back on track. But this will require confronting, head-on, the lack of progress towards a more balanced distribution of opportunities and incomes and the difficult political and economic questions that this raises. Will the benefits of political change be limited to a narrow elite or is more broad-based equitable development possible? What kinds of social, economic or institutional change might contribute to more rapid  transformation of opportunities for the bottom half of the household income distribution? What kinds of constraints on power and privilege might contribute to fairer outcomes at the top tail of the distribution?

These difficult questions are of interest both in South Africa and internationally, and they are economic and institutional questions of considerable complexity. It is not just that a continued widening of inequality is unacceptable morally, it seems likely also that it threatens growth, social order and sustainability. Inequality reduction is under the spotlight in many countries and much work has been done internationally and in South Africa on understanding inequality.

This project is part of the first phase of the Research Facility on Inequalities, coordinated by AFD and funded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships over the 2017-2020 period. The first phase of the Facility has led to the conduct of 22 research projects and the publication of around 100 research papers and policy briefs.

This project will draw on and consolidate this evidence-base and then fill some important, policy-relevant gaps that remain. By design, the research programme outlined below seeks to address distributional issues in both the bottom half and the top of the distribution. The work programme recognises from the outset that there are several dimensions of human development and wellbeing, and progress in some measures might be accompanied by deterioration in others. It recognises that economic growth does not necessarily lead to equitable outcomes – both poverty and inequality have self-reinforcing characteristics that are hard to counter.

The project will be undertaken in formal partnership with South Africa’s national statistical office, Statistics South Africa. Also, as important steps in the proposed research programme, a series of dialogues will be held between the researchers and key stakeholders, including representatives of government, business, organised labour and civil society – to seek advice, test ideas and contribute to consensus on possible policy reforms.

The research project will be developed across three work streams:

1. The implementation of the inequality diagnostic under the form of a report summarizing existing knowledge on South African inequality trends and policies. It will further add to this knowledge using available data, explore the implications of this new work and then take stock of data needs in order to make further progress in framing policies to overcome inequality.
2. A paper on the role of earnings in the household inequality dynamics. It builds off preliminary evidence that a key aspect of the lack of support from the labour market into households is the volatility of employment and therefore earnings for the self-employed and other vulnerable workers.
3. A paper on the interlinkages between population dynamics and spatial inequality. This paper is responsive to an often-expressed opinion from the policy community that migration is being driven by differences across provinces and regions in the quality of schooling, health, and other services.

The diagnostic of inequality in South Africa, carried out by Statistics South Africa in partnership with the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU), the African Centre of Excellence for Inequalities Research (ACEIR) in the EU-AFD Facility framework is available online: Inequality trends in South Africa: a multidimensional diagnosis of inequality.

This report was presented at a workshop involving all actors working to reduce inequality, held on 11 February 2020 in Philippi, Cape Town, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela. You will find here the synthesis of the workshop, including the presentations, discussions and debates held this day: Stakeholder engagement on inequality trends in South Africa.

Find the presentation of the research paper "Earnings Inequality over the Life-Course in South Africa" by Zocco Zizzamia (ACEIR, SALDRU-UCT, University of Oxford) during the second webinar of the Research Facility on Inequalities:

You may find the research papers here:

• Spatial inequality through the prism of a pandemic: Covid-19 in South Africa
• Earnings inequality over the life-course in South Africa

Contact:

• Anda David, Research Officer at AFD

Reducing poverty and income inequalities has been one of the priorities of Senegalese governments since the end of the 1990s. While progress has been made, 23% of households surveyed in 2011 still considered themselves as very poor. To reduce these inequalities and promote growth that is beneficial to the poorest, it is crucial to develop the agricultural sector. There are various possible trajectories for doing so. One is intensification of agroecology, which seems to be good choice for this development, in particular for environmental reasons. For example, several projects have shown that agroecological practices enable productivity comparable to conventional agriculture while at the same time being much more friendly to the environment and the climate. However, there are have been few studies that have quantified the impact of these practices on farmer income and especially on income inequalities, despite the fact that this is a fundamental parameter for achieving the goals of eliminating severe poverty.

This project is part of the first phase of the Research Facility on Inequalities, coordinated by AFD and funded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships over the 2017-2020 period. The first phase of the Facility has led to the conduct of 22 research projects and the publication of around 100 research papers and policy briefs.

The objectives of this research project are to:

• quantify the current income inequalities in rural areas in Senegal;
• analyze what impact different types of public policies that promote agroecology would have on these inequalities.

It is therefore a question of determining the type of grant for Senegal’s agricultural sector that is most likely to reduce inequalities. Different types of inequalities are studied: by gender, within a single community, and between two communities located in different agroecological zones.

This project uses a multidisciplinary approach which combines participatory workshops in rural areas and a stage of bio-economic modeling of outcomes during the workshops. To do so, outcomes, and models already used in international projects (e.g. AMMA-2050) are being expanded and improved. The analysis must also focus on a sector very largely neglected in the past: the combined systems of farming and or livestock raising. Two agroecological zones are being studied under two contrasting climates: one symbolizing the current climate and the other, defined by climatologists, representing the future climate. This will help assess the relevance of agroecology faced with climate change adaptation and to quantify its contribution to the resilience of vulnerable populations.

You may find the research papers here (in French) :

• Inégalités de revenu en milieu rural dans le bassin arachidier du Sénégal
• Impact de différentes politiques publiques sur l'intensification agroécologique et les inégalités de revenu dans le bassin arachidier du Sénégal

You may find the policy briefs here:

• Poverty and inequalities in the peanut basin of Senegal: implications and recommendations
• What policies should be implemented to promote agro-ecological intensification and reduce inequalities in the peanut basin of Senegal?

Contact:

Philippe Roudier, Research Officer, AFD

Moussa Sall, Research Officer, ISRA