Living standards and land – longitudinal village level perspectives from five African countries: broad based improvements amid rural differentiation

The article departs from a unique data set covering 44 villages over the period 2002 to 2013/2015 and finds that polarization in living standards has fallen dramatically, largely based on access to agricultural output markets. Rural differentiation with respect to land access has, however, increased rapidly, showing the importance of contextualizing improvements in living standards in relation to land access. The spatial distribution of these patterns varies greatly. Theoretically, the article shows that perspectives of both differentiation and broad-based growth are relevant for the study of African smallholder agriculture. Market participation in the short term leads to livelihood improvements, but over time enhances differentiation with respect to access to land.