Multidimensional Equality of Opportunity in the United States

Arbeitspapier

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.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 15149

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions ; Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
• Subject: fairness ; intergenerational mobility ; time trends ; measurement

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Hufe, Paul ; Kobus, Martyna ; Peichl, Andreas ; Schüle, Paul
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2022

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/252273
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET