Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10508
Authors: Ravi Kanbur; Adam Wagstaff
Abstract: The academic literature on equality of opportunity has burgeoned. More recently, the concepts and measures have begun to be used by policy institutions, including in specific sectors like health and education. Indeed, it is argued that one advantage of focusing on equality of opportunity is that policy makers are more responsive to that discourse than on equality of outcomes per se. This paper presents a critique of equality of opportunity in the policy context. While the empirical analysis to which the literature has given rise is useful and is to be welcomed, current methods for quantifying and implementing the concept with a view to informing the policy discourse face a series of fundamental questions that remain unanswered. Without a full appreciation of these difficulties, these methods may prove to be misleading in the policy context.
Keywords: equality of opportunity; inequality; inequality of opportunity; inequality of outcome
JEL Codes: D31; D63
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Inequality of opportunity (I24) | Inequalities in outcomes (I14) |
| Justifiable (J) sources (Y50) | Inequalities in outcomes (I14) |
| Unjustifiable (U) sources (Y30) | Inequalities in outcomes (I14) |
| Circumstances beyond individual control (H84) | Unjust inequalities (D63) |
| Individual effort (D29) | Justifiable inequalities (D63) |
| Inequality of opportunity (I24) | Policy evaluation complications (C52) |
| Current quantification methods (C13) | Misleading policymakers (D72) |