ABSTRACT
Rural inequality has been a consistent theme in the work of David W. Brokensha. The 1981 paper is a detailed discussion of variables which can be examined to assess the extent of economic inequality in rural communities. This chapter presents a definition of migratory wage labor, and summarizes the existing arguments on the relationships between the migrant institution and household well-being. It provides evidence from the Taita Hills of Kenya which suggests that the income obtained from migratory wage employment is a major contributor to the economic inequality which so visibly exists in contemporary Taita communities. The analysis of Taita households which follows considers only those units which are economically independent. Some of the disagreement on the impacts of migratory wage labor may emanate from a lack of precision in discussing this institution, which in turn arises at least in part from the highly variable nature of labor migration.
