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Journal article

Public policies and equality of opportunity for wellbeing in multiple dimensions: a theoretical discussion and evidence from Bolivia

Abstract:
Roemer’s equality of opportunity (EOp) theory is increasingly used as the framework for assessing the link between public policies and social justice. Most studies focus on a single (monetary) wellbeing indicator and take individual efforts as being randomly distributed. However, recent development theories have uniformly advocated the use of a multidimensional wellbeing measure and the importance of individual responsibility. We propose a theoretical framework and a modelling tool to include these aspects in an assessment of the connection between public policies and inequality of opportunity for wellbeing within a Romerian setting. Using Bolivian data, we demonstrate the empirical usefulness of our framework and find that Bolivian social programmes are strongly associated with the reduction of unfair inequalities arising from ethnicity and family background, although their levels are far away from being optimal. We highlight the role of effort in this connection and show that it is a fundamental mediating factor.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1007/s11205-019-02245-2

Authors


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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
SSD
Department:
International Development
Role:
Author


Publisher:
Springer
Journal:
Social Indicators Research More from this journal
Volume:
149
Pages:
297–325
Publication date:
2019-12-18
Acceptance date:
2019-12-10
DOI:
ISSN:
0303-8300


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
pubs:1081265
UUID:
uuid:68c440a9-e92f-4ab2-a48f-100fe6f73706
Local pid:
pubs:1081265
Source identifiers:
1081265
Deposit date:
2020-01-08

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