Inequality of Opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19922621
AutoresPaolo Brunori (0000-0002-1624-905X, University of Bari Aldo Moro), Flaviana Palmisano (0000-0001-7944-3813, Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta), Vito Peragine (0000-0003-3957-3386, University of Bari Aldo Moro)
Año2016
Fecha de publicación2016-08-01
Open AccessNo
TipoBOOK
EditorialWorld Bank, Washington, DC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1596/1813-9450-7782
OpenAlexW2262998885
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas42

In the last decades, inequality of opportunity has been extensively studied by economists on the assumption that, in addition to being normatively undesirable, it can be related to low potential for growth. This paper evaluates inequality of opportunity and the different sources of unequal opportunities in 11 Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The results indicate that the portion of total inequality that can be attributed to exogenous circumstances -- that is, circumstances outside the control of individuals control -- is between 30 percent and 40 percent in the countries considered. The results also indicate a positive association between total consumption inequality and inequality of opportunity. Finally, this paper addresses a number of methodological issues that typically arise when measuring inequality of opportunity with imperfect data, which is the typical case in developing countries

Development economics · Economics · Geography · Inequality · Economic theories and models · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Mathematics · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare