An International Comparison of Inequality of Educational Opportunity Using TIMSS

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the effects of economic inequalities on the economy and society as a whole. Prior studies on economic inequality have addressed inequalities of economic achievement such as wages and incomes. Considering the discussion of modern political philosophers on inequalities, recent economic studies have distinguished between inequalities in economic achievement, on the one hand, and inequality of opportunity and inequality of effort, on the other (Roemer 1993, 1998; Fleurbaey 2008; Fleurbaey and Maniquet 2011; Roemer and Trannoy 2016). An economic achievement of an individual is a final outcome that combines effects of the individual’s environment (or opportunity) with effects of her effort. Inequalities of achievement can be divided by the inequality of opportunity and the inequality of effort.