Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on income inequality and poverty reduction in various countries around the world.
With general elections due either later this year or in 2018, Sierra Leone’s opposition parties have been frequently criticizing the ruling All People’s Congress party for its handling of the country’s endemic poverty and growing crime rate. In an email interview, Tristan Reed, an independent economist, discusses poverty and income inequality in Sierra Leone.
WPR: What is the rate of income inequality in Sierra Leone, what are the latest trends in terms of widening or lessening inequality, and what are the main factors driving income inequality?