EOPM - Multidimensional Equality of Opportunity

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Alan Krueger, a former main economic advisor to President Obama, once said: "The rise in inequality in the United States over the last three decades has reached the point that inequality in incomes is causing an unhealthy division in opportunities, and is a threat to our economic growth." Equality of opportunity, as opposed to pure equality of outcomes, takes into account the element of individual responsibility. Individuals should have equal opportunities in the sense that factors beyond their control have no impact on their well-being. Against this background condition, it is then the choice of the individual to exercise sufficient effort to obtain a specific level of well-being. It is widely acknowledged in the literature and more so in practical decision-making that well-being is a multidimensional concept and cannot be reduced to a single proxy such as income. Therefore if the goal of public policy is to seek equality of opportunity, its measurement has to account for the multidimensionality of well-being. To date, however, researchers on equality of opportunity have made only little progress on this mission - a shortcoming that will be addressed by this research project.The project consists of four packages. First, we investigate theoretical models of equality of opportunity with the goal to link individual responsibility and multi-dimensional well-being. Second, we offer various measurement approaches to evaluate equality of opportunity in the presence of multiple outcomes. Third, we apply the developed measures to assess equality of opportunity with respect to multidimensional well-being. In a last step, we contribute to the existing literature by analyzing unequal opportunities over the life-cycle through the lens of multidimensionality.The Beethoven call offers a unique opportunity to conduct research in this area which receives substantial public attention. It facilitates the integration of research experience in the theory of the measurement of well-being and inequality (Poland) with the capacities of an empirically oriented research group that has a strong track-record of estimating equality of opportunity (Germany). Furthermore, the project will benefit greatly from excellent collaborators (Italy, UK) who are established experts in the field.