Inequality of Opportunity and Economic Development

Just as equality of opportunity becomes an increasingly prominent concept in normative economics, the authors argue that it is also a relevant concept for positive models of the links between distribution and aggregate efficiency. Persuasive microeconomic evidence suggests that inequalities in wealth, power, and status have efficiency costs. These variables capture different aspects of people's opportunity sets, for which observed income may be a poor proxy. One implication is that the cross-country literature on income inequality and growth may have been barking up the wrong tree, and that alternative measures of the relevant distributions are needed. The authors review some of the detailed microeconomic evidence, and then suggest three research areas where further work is needed.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Walton, Michael, Ferreira, Francisco H.G.
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2006-01
Subjects:	AGGREGATE OUTPUT, AVERAGE INCOME, AVERAGE PERFORMANCE, BELIEF SYSTEMS, BI, CAPITAL MARKET, CAPITAL MARKETS, CHILDREN WITHOUT ACCESS, CLASSICAL ECONOMICS, CLASSICAL ECONOMISTS, COGNITIVE ACHIEVEMENT, COGNITIVE SKILLS, CREDIT MARKET, DEBT, DECISION MAKING, DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIFFERENTIAL PATHS, DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH, DISTRIBUTIONAL OUTCOMES, DISTRIBUTIVE POLITICS, EARNINGS INEQUALITY, ECONOMETRIC PROBLEMS, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC HISTORIANS, ECONOMIC INCENTIVES, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY, ECONOMIC OUTCOMES, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMIC REVIEW, ECONOMIC STUDIES, EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, ELASTICITY, ELITES, EQUAL ACCESS, EXPECTED RETURNS, EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS, FACTOR ENDOWMENTS, FIXED COSTS, GIRLS, GROWTH THEORY, HIGH CONCENTRATION, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, IMPERFECT CAPITAL MARKETS, IMPERFECT CREDIT, INCOME, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME LEVELS, INCOMES, INEFFICIENCY, INFANT MORTALITY, INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY, INVESTMENT, INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES, LAND OWNERSHIP, LEARNING, MACROECONOMICS, MARKET IMPERFECTIONS, MATCHING METHODS, MORTALITY RATES, MULTIPLE EQUILIBRIA, NORMATIVE ECONOMICS, NUTRITION, OPPORTUNITY SET, OPPORTUNITY SETS, OPPORTUNITY ­ SET, POLICY ALTERNATIVES, POLICY DECISIONS, POLICY DESIGN, POLICY RESEARCH, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICAL ECONOMY CHANNEL, POLITICAL ECONOMY MODELS, POLITICAL RIGHTS, POLITICAL SCIENCE, POLITICAL SYSTEMS, POOR PEOPLE, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRODUCTIVE OPPORTUNITIES, PROFIT MARGINS, PROGRAMS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PUBLIC CHOICE, PUBLIC ECONOMICS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC GOOD, PUBLIC GOODS, RELATIVE SUPPLY, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLS, SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS, SOCIAL GROUPS, SOCIAL HIERARCHY, SOUTH AMERICA, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, TEACHERS, TOTAL OUTPUT, WEALTH, WELFARE ECONOMICS, WELL-BEING,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/01/6530275/inequality-opportunity-economic-development https://hdl.handle.net/10986/8793
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