Multidimensional Equality of Opportunity in the United States

Paul Hufe, Martyna Kobus (), Andreas Peichl and Paul Schüle
Additional contact information
Martyna Kobus: Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences
Paul Schüle: Ifo Institute for Economic Research

No 15149, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Are the United States still a land of opportunity? We provide new insights on this question by invoking a novel measurement approach that allows us to target the joint distribution of income and wealth. We show that inequality of opportunity has increased by 77% over the time period 1983-2016. Increases are driven by two distinct forces: (i) a less opportunity-egalitarian distribution of income until 2000, and (ii) a less opportunity-egalitarian distribution of wealth after the financial crisis in 2008. In sum, our findings suggest that the US have consistently moved further away from a level playing field in recent decades.

Keywords: fairness; intergenerational mobility; time trends; measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2022-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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