Income distribution, inequality, and poverty during economic reforms in Guyana

The evidence shows that between 1993 and 1999 real GDP increased by 32 percent and per capita GDP by 29 percent. During the same period, the headcount index of poverty fell from 43.2 percent in 1993 to 36.4 percent in 1999, and the poverty gap, which measures the depth of poverty, fell from 16.2 percent in 1993 to 12.4 percent in 1999, hence, growth is poverty reducing. Each quintile of the income distribution experienced approximately 26 percent increase in welfare during 1993-99, as measured by increased in real consumption expenditures. Inequality during 1993-99 improved slightly, but it has remained fairly stable from the 1950s to the 1990s. There is little or not correlation between growth and inequality, and no strong correlation between inequality and poverty, and no significant correlation between poverty and race.