African economies and the Kuznets curve: an exploratory investigation

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between income inequality and economic development in a cross-section of countries. It estimates, on a small exploratory sample, an explicit Kuznets-type inequality relationship where inequality between skilled and unskilled labour is a function of the determinants of growth implied by a standard neoclassical growth model. Parameter estimates suggest that sub-Saharan African Economies are dualistic and are situated on the segment of the Kuznets’ curve where inequality increases with respect to development.