At a Kampala summer school, 70 scholars tackled Africa’s wealth inequality, uncovering the pivotal role of land ownership in shaping economic divides. Insights spark change.
Die Autoren
Jakob Kapeller ist Professor und geschäftsführender Direktor am ifso. Zudem leitet er das Institut für die Gesamtanalyse der Wirtschaft (ICAE). Schwerpunkte: Ökonomischer und sozialer Wandel und Plurale Ökonomik.
Paul Kliesch ist wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft am Institut für Sozioökonomie und studiert im MA Sozioökonomie.
The gap between rich and poor is widening, also in African countries. Already, African wealth inequalities are among the highest in global comparison. To better analyze the dynamics behind this, a group of about seventy ambitious scholars gathered for a summer school on „Wealth Inequality Studies in Africa“ in Kampala, Uganda in September 2024. This was made possible through the joint organization by Resty Naiga (Makerere University), Jakob Kapeller (University of Duisburg-Essen), and Howard Stein (University of Michigan), as well as the financial support of the Volkswagen Foundation.
Jakob Kapeller and Howard Stein kicked off the program with an introduction to the importance of heterodox economics in the context of East African wealth inequalities. In the following days, speakers such as Theresa Auma Eilu (Land and Equity Movement Uganda), Aroop Chatterjee (University of the Witwatersrand), and Faustin Maganga (St. John’s University) shared their experiences from research projects in Uganda, South Africa, and Tanzania. As it became evident that land conflicts are central to wealth inequalities in these regions, William John Walwa (University of Dar es Salaam) and Emmanuel Sulle (Aga Khan University) elaborated further on this point in their lectures.
The discussion became especially lively when Doreen Kobusingye (National Land Coalition Uganda) highlighted the particular burden women face when it comes to wealth inequalities. Here, different (cultural) understandings of „normal“ economic activity became apparent among the speakers. To furthermore give a sense for the political economic background of these issues, Jörg Wiegratz (University of Leeds) and Godfrey Asiimwe (Makerere University) raised awareness for class issues and the influence of neoliberal policies in East Africa.
After attentively listening to these presentations and passionately discussing their arguments, the participants were given the task of developing their own research proposals. Once again, a recurring theme emerged that seemed to fundamentally shape the perception of wealth inequalities in East Africa: the ownership and use of land as a central determinant of individual wealth. This topic sparked the most vigorous questioning of the existing political, economic, and social conditions. During several highly enlightening debates, participants displayed a deep understanding of the conflicts between rich and poor, between governments and citizens, between local and international companies, and between the global North and the global South.
This led the small group of students from the University of Duisburg-Essen who participated in the summer school to realize in how far questions of wealth distribution are context-specific. As subsistence needs and wealth assets tend to be more closely tied in the Global South, different economic pathways have to emerge than in the Global North. For example, while traditional stances of economic textbooks always advocate for the formalization of property rights, practical experiences in East Africa show that the formalization of land rights can also be accompanied by costs that hinder the effective use of land and thus conflict with the needs of affected households.
For the German students, the summer school thus became a cultural experience. They saw an impressive performance of traditional dance from the Buganda kingdom. They were introduced to East African cuisine, including dishes such as Matooke, Luwombo, and East African spiced tea (google it!). And they had the opportunity to learn about and question their own study content from an East African perspective.
Interestingly, lessons also came from Uber and Boda Boda drivers as they impressed with their excellent analyses of Uganda’s economic situation. Surprising? Not really. Many of them are university graduates. The fact that they are now working as taxi drivers is part of the economic reality in Uganda, which doesn’t follow the premises of human capital theory and offers many well-educated young people no suitable employment prospects. Hopefully, the participants will explore the processes behind this in more depth in the future. The summer school has taken a first step in that direction. We leave it inspired, connected, and full of drive.
