The Evolution of Horizontal Inequalities in Madagascar, 1999-2005

Abstract:     
This paper explores whether there exist persistent horizontal inequalities in Madagascar; that is, whether there is a pattern over time of consistently poorer performance among subpopulations readily identifiable by one or more identity markers. Three key messages come out of this analysis. First, there exists a core group of households that remained persistently poor over the 1999-2005 period. These households were land poor, lived in remote areas, and were headed by uneducated individuals, most commonly unmarried women. Second, in addition to establishing the existence of horizontal inequalities across groups, relative differences in returns to education and land holdings underscore the existence of vertical inequalities within groups, as one characteristic affects the returns to another. Third, persistent horizontal inequalities are associated with multiple different identities, some of which are offsetting and some of which are reinforcing. For example, women's higher education tends to offset (or even overcome) the disadvantages associated with being a permanent head of household, while being land poor compounds the disadvantages associated with remoteness.

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