Nonfarm income, inequality, and land in rural Egypt

Richard H. Adams

Policymakers interested in reducing poverty and improving income distribution in rural Egypt should focus on nonfarm income, which not only accounts for almost 60 percent of total income for the rural poor but also favorably affects income distribution. Nonfarm income is an inequality-reducing source of income in a land-scarce setting such as rural Egypt because inadequate land "pushes" poorer households out of agriculture and into the nonfarm sector.