The wealth and gender distribution of rural services in Ethiopoa: A public expenditure benefit incidence analysis.

To what extent do different social and economic groups benefit from rural infrastructure and public service investment in Ethiopia? This is an investigation into the benefit incidence of three Ethiopian government-funded programmes/services: selected components of the Food Security Programme (FSP), drinking water supply, and agricultural extension services. The study reveals that poor households receive proportionately the largest share of FSP spending benefits. The food/cash-for-work component of the FSP is found to favour male-headed households, while the free food and/or cash aid component favours female-headed households. The incidence of water services was assessed in terms on physical access and the extent of household use. While there does not appear to be a clear relationship between physical access to water and wealth, the use of improved water facilities is the highest among the poorest households. The incidence of safe water use is higher for female-headed households, raising considerations of how each gender may differentially prioritise safe water for consumption. Nearly one-third of farmers (both women and men) have access to some form of agricultural extension service. However, there is a clear gender gap: women receive extension services at about half the rate men do. This has to do with women being less likely to be household heads than men. A concentration curve analysis finds Ethiopia’s agricultural extension service to be relatively progressive, whereas the benefits-to-population ratio has non-progressive features at both ends of the wealth spectrum. Demand- and supply-side factors that correlated with the three different services were identified through a regression analysis, which serves as a complement to the benefit incidence analysis.