This paper assesses the changes in household income distribution and poverty situation between 1985 and 1997 with primary data generated through in-depth household surveys in four villages representing the irrigated, favourable rainfed, and the upland rice ecosystems in the Philippines. An important finding of the study is that rice accounts for a small and declining fraction of the total household income, and that rice income is relatively less unequally distributed than income from non-farm sources. The inequality in the distribution of education and landholdings are more important factors contributing to income inequality than the diffusion of modern rice technologies.
