Regional economic Integration and income inequality in Latin America: the case of the Andean Community of Nations

Countries in Latin America have created many regional integration groups in order to boost economic growth, trade, and sustainable development. Income inequality has reduced in Latin America and especially in Andean region, one of the oldest regional group on the continent. There is a need to verify whether this decline is imputable to an intensified regional integration. Using the data for the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) from 2000 to 2013, we carry a panel analysis to inquire about the effect of regional economic integration on income inequality. We found that, regional trade has influenced the decline of income inequality in the region. The results discovered that intraregional trade increases income and, later, decreases it as countries become fully integrated; as predicted by the inverted U-shape theory. Our results do not provide evidence to support that economic growth affects income inequality. It, however, provides evidence of a higher degree of integration among the countries. Keywords: Regional integration, income inequality, Andean regio

Inequality, Poverty and Inclusive Growth in TOGO: An Assessment of the Survey Data

Our research carries out three tasks. The first is to examine the trends of poverty and inequality across the rural and urban areas in Togo between 2006 and 2011. The second task is to look for the drivers of these changes. The last is to inspect the evidence of inclusive growth. Using data from Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire Survey (QUIBB) for 2006 and 2011 and the ADePT Poverty and Inequality Module, we explore poverty and inequality indices. We found that: 1) fifty percent of the Togolese population in the urban area, lives with per capita consumption expenditure greater than the poverty line. 2) The decrease of the headcount ratio poverty from 2006 to 2011 was much faster in the urban areas than the rural areas. 3) In five years, inequality has risen in both rural and urban areas.  4) Even though the prevalence of poverty has declined between 2006 and 2011, the depth and severity of poverty has intensified in Togo. 5) The economic growth in Togo was not pro-poor. Keywords: poverty, inequality, pro-poor, inclusive growth.

Inequality, poverty and inclusive growth in TOGO: An Assessment of the Survey Data

Our research carries out three tasks. The first is to examine the trends of poverty and inequality across the rural and urban areas in Togo between 2006 and 2011. The second task is to look for the drivers of these changes. The last is to inspect the evidence of inclusive growth. Using data from Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire Survey (QUIBB) for 2006 and 2011 and the ADePT Poverty and Inequality Module, we explore poverty and inequality indices. We found that: 1) fifty percent of the Togolese population in the urban area, lives with per capita consumption expenditure greater than the poverty line. 2) The decrease of the headcount ratio poverty from 2006 to 2011 was much faster in the urban areas than the rural areas. 3) In five years, inequality has risen in both rural and urban areas. 4) Even though the prevalence of poverty has declined between 2006 and 2011, the depth and severity of poverty has intensified in Togo. 5) The economic growth in Togo was not pro-poor

Inequality, poverty and inclusive growth in TOGO: An Assessment of the Survey Data

Our research carries out three tasks. The first is to examine the trends of poverty and inequality across the rural and urban areas in Togo between 2006 and 2011. The second task is to look for the drivers of these changes. The last is to inspect the evidence of inclusive growth. Using data from Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire Survey (QUIBB) for 2006 and 2011 and the ADePT Poverty and Inequality Module, we explore poverty and inequality indices. We found that: 1) fifty percent of the Togolese population in the urban area, lives with per capita consumption expenditure greater than the poverty line. 2) The decrease of the headcount ratio poverty from 2006 to 2011 was much faster in the urban areas than the rural areas. 3) In five years, inequality has risen in both rural and urban areas. 4) Even though the prevalence of poverty has declined between 2006 and 2011, the depth and severity of poverty has intensified in Togo. 5) The economic growth in Togo was not pro-poor

A GENDER WELFARE IMPACT OF THE ECOWAS COMMON EXTERNAL TARIFFS ON HOUSEHOLDS IN TOGO

This paper evaluates the welfare outcomes of implementing the ECOWAS common external tariff in Togo, with a specific focus on gender issue. Using the survey data QUIBB 2015, we perform an induced price analysis and a non-parametric regression. We find that the share of household expenditure allocated for food declines as the income level increases, in both urban and rural areas and for both male- and female-headed households. The results also denote that ECOWAS-CET has reduced the welfare of consumer households in Togo, especially for self-employed farmers. As supported by the theory, consumer households living closer to the port city observe a smaller loss in the welfare. Our analysis shows that households in Lomé (where the distance from the port city is zero) experienced the lowest loss in the welfare while households in the Savanes region (at 617.7 kilometers from the port) have the biggest loss score. In Togo, government social transfer is pro-poor because it leaves the poor better off, but it benefits more to male-headed households

A GENDER WELFARE IMPACT OF THE ECOWAS COMMON EXTERNAL TARIFFS ON HOUSEHOLDS IN TOGO

This paper evaluates the welfare outcomes of implementing the ECOWAS common external tariff in Togo, with a specific focus on gender issue. Using the survey data QUIBB 2015, we perform an induced price analysis and a non-parametric regression. We find that the share of household expenditure allocated for food declines as the income level increases, in both urban and rural areas and for both male- and female-headed households. The results also denote that ECOWAS-CET has reduced the welfare of consumer households in Togo, especially for self-employed farmers. As supported by the theory, consumer households living closer to the port city observe a smaller loss in the welfare. Our analysis shows that households in Lomé (where the distance from the port city is zero) experienced the lowest loss in the welfare while households in the Savanes region (at 617.7 kilometers from the port) have the biggest loss score. In Togo, government social transfer is pro-poor because it leaves the poor better off, but it benefits more to male-headed households