help oppincidence

Title

oppincidence -- Ex-Ante Inequality of Opportunity

Syntax

oppincidence varlist [if] [in] [weight], groupby(varlist)

fweight, aweight and iweight are allowed; see help weights.

Options

groupby(varlist) specifies the variables that make up the circumstances sets.

Description

oppincidence measures ex-ante inequality of opportunity across different
income concepts specified in varlist by circumstances sets specified by
the variables in groupby(). For example, one circumstances set could be
(female, black, parents were college graduates, urban): all individuals with those four traits are grouped together in
that circumstances set. Circumstances are pre-determined factors that are not dependent on an
individual’s effort, such as race, gender, and parents’ education or parents’ income. A smoothed income distribution
is created by assigning each individual the mean income of the individuals in his or
her circumstances set. Inequality (measured using mean log deviation) of the smoothed income distribution for each income
concept gives the measure of inequality of opportunity in levels by income concept.
This is labeled "In levels". Dividing the resulting measure by the
mean log deviation for the actual income distribution measures the ratio of inequality
due to inequality of opportunity as opposed to inequality of effort. This is labeled "In ratios".

Examples

. oppincidence ym_BC yn_BC yd_BC ypf_BC yf_BC [aw=s_weight], groupby(male race fathers_education mothers_education rural) // use scaled income

Saved Results

Matrices

r(levels) MLD of smoothed distribution

r(ratios) MLD of smoothed distribution over MLD of original distribution

Author

Sean Higgins, Tulane University, shiggins@tulane.edu

References

Lustig, N. and S. Higgins. 2012.
"Commitment to Equity Assessment (CEQ): Estimating the Incidence of Social Spending, Subsidies and Taxes Handbook," pages 52-53.

Ferreira, F. and J. Gignoux. 2011.
"The Measurement of Inequality of Opportunity: Theory and an Application to Latin America,"Review of Income and Wealth 57(4): 622-657.