October 2026
The Gender Pay Gap in Uganda: Extent and Drivers
Despite increasing policy focus on women’s economic empowerment, gender pay disparities remain deeply entrenched in Uganda. This study examines the size and causes of the gender pay gap using data from four rounds of the Uganda National Household Survey (2012/13 - 2023/24). Descriptive analysis shows that the “unadjusted” gender pay gap has consistently ranged between 43% and 52%. The disparities are especially evident among employed workers aged 31-64, within the services sector, in rural areas, in informal employment, among individuals with disabilities, and in polygamous unions. Intra-household analysis also reveals that men earned more than women in over 90% of dual-income ho...
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May 2026
Impact of Sugarcane Production Participation on Household Food Security in Uganda
The paper examines the impact of sugarcane production on household food security in Uganda. It is among the few studies in Uganda providing new empirical insights into household food security. Specifically, it demonstrates how cultivating sugarcane or not impacts household livelihood outcomes in communities where sugarcane is grown compared to households in the same regions that do not grow cane. The paper uses quantitative techniques (Poisson, ordered probit, PSM and IPW) on primary cross- sectional survey data from 1771 farming households conducted in 2021 across three sugarcane- growing subregions of Uganda— Bunyoro, Buganda and Busoga. The data were weighed; hence, the results a...
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May 2026
How has the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran affected Uganda’s economy?
This policy note illustrates how the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran has affected the Ugandan economy. Since the war began, the clearest effects on Uganda show up at the fuel prices, but not yet in the other headline figures. Diesel rose 10.2 percent and petrol 5.8 percent between February and April 2026, feeding straight into transport and food costs. Remittances from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar fell by a combined USD 7 million, from USD 69 million to USD 62 million, between February and March. And 63 percent of firms surveyed in the January March 2026 Business Climate Index (BCI) report being hurt by the war, mainly through higher fuel, shipping, and freight costs. As suc...
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May 2026
Corporal Punishment and Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Primary Schools in Uganda.
This paper examines the impact of corporal punishment on learning outcomes in primary schools in Uganda. Using nationally representative pupil and school-level data linked to household information, I exploit exogenous variation in awareness campaigns as an instrument for corporal punishment to identify causal effects. On average, exposure to corporal punishment reduces the probability of being proficient in English by 6.6 percentage points and in mathematics by 7.7 percentage points. Moreover, the negative effect of corporal punishment is strongest in communities in which corporal punishment is socially disapproved, while it is comparatively smaller in areas in which corporal punishm...
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December 2025
Is Uganda Ready For Large-Scale Adoption Of Electric Mobility Vehicles?
This study examines Uganda’s readiness for a large-scale transition to electric mobility (E-mobility), driven by the urgent need to decarbonise the transport sector and combat severe air pollution. The study leverages quantitative data from surveys and perceptions from Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions. The findings reveal that Uganda has a moderate level of EV adoption readiness (0.67), performing slightly above the African average (0.58) but still behind its East African peers, such as Rwanda (0.74) and Kenya (0.7). While there is growing consumer interest, abundant renewable energy potential, and the availability of strategic natural resources for EV manufactu...
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March 2026
Socio-economic impacts of illnesses on employment outcomes in Uganda
Uganda faces a growing double burden of disease. Communicable diseases still account for the largest share of morbidity, while non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising rapidly and now contribute approximately one-third of total deaths. Yet the consequences of this dual crisis on labour market outcomes remain relatively underexplored. This study analyses the socio-economic impacts of illnesses on employment in Uganda, using data from the 2019/20 Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS). It identifies key drivers of both communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and assesses their effects on employment, earnings, and labour supply among the working-age population. The fi...
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October 2026
The Gender Pay Gap in Uganda: Extent and Drivers
Despite increasing policy focus on women’s economic empowerment, gender pay disparities remain deeply entrenched in Uganda. This study examines the size and causes of the gender pay gap using data from four rounds of the Uganda National Household Survey (2012/13 - 2023/24). Descriptive analysis shows that the “unadjusted” gender pay gap has consistently ranged between 43% and 52%. The disparities are especially evident among employed workers aged 31-64, within the services sector, in rural areas, in informal employment, among individuals with disabilities, and in polygamous unions. Intra-household analysis also reveals that men earned more than women in over 90% of dual-income ho...
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March 2026
Socio-economic impacts of illnesses on employment outcomes in Uganda
Uganda faces a growing double burden of disease. Communicable diseases still account for the largest share of morbidity, while non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising rapidly and now contribute approximately one-third of total deaths. Yet the consequences of this dual crisis on labour market outcomes remain relatively underexplored. This study analyses the socio-economic impacts of illnesses on employment in Uganda, using data from the 2019/20 Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS). It identifies key drivers of both communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and assesses their effects on employment, earnings, and labour supply among the working-age population. The fi...
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December 2025
Is Uganda Ready For Large-Scale Adoption Of Electric Mobility Vehicles?
This study examines Uganda’s readiness for a large-scale transition to electric mobility (E-mobility), driven by the urgent need to decarbonise the transport sector and combat severe air pollution. The study leverages quantitative data from surveys and perceptions from Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions. The findings reveal that Uganda has a moderate level of EV adoption readiness (0.67), performing slightly above the African average (0.58) but still behind its East African peers, such as Rwanda (0.74) and Kenya (0.7). While there is growing consumer interest, abundant renewable energy potential, and the availability of strategic natural resources for EV manufactu...
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August 2016
Early Childhood Development in Uganda’s Education Sector
The first pathway from ECD to human capital development is through education. Uganda recognizes pre-primary education as the first step to education in the 2008 Pre-Primary, Primary and Post Primary Education Act. Owing to the fact that this act did not provide a consolidated approach to ECD, the country has recently developed and launched a National Integrated Early Childhood Development (NIECD) policy. This was indeed a significant effort towards enhancing ECD. The mission of the policy is to ensure equitable access to quality and relevant ECD services for holistic development of all Children from conception to 8 years. Apart from improving the policy environment, what progress...
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