In the literature, it is generally accepted that consumption is a more appropriate welfare
measure than household income or salaries. This paper aims to investigate the evolution
of expenditure inequality in Cameroon over the 1984-1996 period, with the help of
Lorenz Curves, the Gini coefficient, and two entropy measures of inequality. Total
expenditure inequality is decomposed into the within-groups and between-groups
components using Theil’s decomposition techniques and household expenditure data
derived from the 1984 and 1996 National household surveys (i.e. the 1983/1984
Household Consumption Budget (EBC) survey, and the 1996 Cameroonian Household
Survey (ECAM1)). Decompositions are carried out according to the residence area (rural,
semi-urban, and urban), stratum, age, educational level and the gender of the household
head. Policy implications are discussed.