Public Policies and Equality of Opportunity for Wellbeing in Multiple Dimensions: A Theoretical Discussion and Evidence from Bolivia

Jaya Krishnakumar () and Ricardo Nogales ()
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Jaya Krishnakumar: University of Geneva

Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, 2020, vol. 149, issue 1, No 13, 297-325

Abstract: Abstract Roemer’s equality of opportunity (EOp) theory is increasingly used as the framework for assessing the link between public policies and social justice. Most studies focus on a single (monetary) wellbeing indicator and take individual efforts as being randomly distributed. However, recent development theories have uniformly advocated the use of a multidimensional wellbeing measure and the importance of individual responsibility. We propose a theoretical framework and a modelling tool to include these aspects in an assessment of the connection between public policies and inequality of opportunity for wellbeing within a Romerian setting. Using Bolivian data, we demonstrate the empirical usefulness of our framework and find that Bolivian social programmes are strongly associated with the reduction of unfair inequalities arising from ethnicity and family background, although their levels are far away from being optimal. We highlight the role of effort in this connection and show that it is a fundamental mediating factor.

Keywords: Wellbeing; Equality of opportunity; Public policy; Simultaneous equation models; Latent variables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1007/s11205-019-02245-2

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