Inequality of opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa
Inequality of opportunity is defined as the difference in individuals’ outcome systematically
correlated with morally irrelevant pre-determined circumstances, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic
background, area of birth. This definition has been extensively studied by economists
on the assumption that, in addition to being normatively undesirable, it can be related to low
potentials for growth. However, empirical estimations of inequality of opportunity require accessing
rich data sources, rarely available in poorer countries. In this paper, we exploit 13 consumption
household surveys to evaluate inequality of opportunity in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries.
According to our results, the portion of total inequality that can be attributed to exogenous
circumstances is between 40% and 56% for the generality of countries. Our estimates are
significantly higher than what has been found by previous studies. We detect a positive association
between total consumption inequality and inequality of opportunity, and we study the
different sources of unequal opportunities. The place of birth and the education of the father
appear to exert the most relevant role in shaping inequality of opportunity in the region.