Unequal Opportunities and Human Capital Formation

Daniel Mej�a and Marc St-Pierre
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Daniel Mejia

No 3737, Borradores de Economia from Banco de la Republica

Abstract: This paper develops a tractable, heterogeneous agents general equilibrium model where individuals have different endowments of the factors that complement the schooling process. The paper explores the relationship between inequality of opportunities, inequality of outcomes, and aggregate efficiency in human capital formation. Using numerical solutions we study how the endogenous variables of the model respond to two different interventions in the distribution of opportunities: a meanpreserving spread and a change in the support. The results suggest that a higher degree of inequality of opportunities is associated with lower average level of human capital, a lower fraction of individuals investing in human capital, higher inequality in the distribution of human capital, and higher wage inequality. In particular, the model does not predict a trade-off between aggregate efficiency in human capital formation (as measured by the average level of human capital in the economy) and equality of opportunity.

Keywords: Human Capital; Inequality; Equity-Efficiency Trade-off. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J31 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36
Date: 2006-10-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/ftp/borra415.pdf

Related works:
Journal Article: Unequal opportunities and human capital formation (2008)
Working Paper: Unequal Opportunities and Human Capital Formation (2006)
Working Paper: Unequal Opportunities and Human Capital Formation (2005)
Working Paper: Unequal opportunities and human capital formation (2004)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000094:003737

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