Life chances and class: Estimating inequality of opportunity in South Africa for various life stages

Asmus Zoch

No 08/2013, Working Papers from Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper aims to determine the degree to which class and socio-economic background influence a child’s life chances and their future perspectives. We build on the growing number of papers that deal with the concept of inequality of opportunity. Comparing children from poor and middle class households we find significant differences in terms of access to basic education, sanitation, clean water and mobility. Our multivariate analysis highlights the importance of class membership for schooling outcomes and labour market prospects of a child. The single most important variable to explain schooling outcomes are mother’s education. While income seems to be less important for younger ages it becomes increasingly important for the chances of reaching matric and obtaining tertiary education. The results are robust for various models and panel data.

Keywords: Inequality of opportunity; Intergenerational mobility; South Africa; Middle class (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 I24 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dem and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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