HOW USEFUL IS INEQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AS A POLICY CONSTRUCT?

Ravi Kanbur and Adam Wagstaff

No 250005, Working Papers from Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management

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: Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19
Date: 2014-06-22
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

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https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/250005/files/Cornell-Dyson-wp1417.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Chapter: How Useful Is Inequality of Opportunity as a Policy Construct? (2016)
Working Paper: How Useful is Inequality of Opportunity as a Policy Construct? (2015)
Working Paper: How useful is inequality of opportunity as a policy construct? (2014)
Working Paper: How useful is inequality of opportunity as a policy construct ? (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:cudawp:250005

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.250005

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