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Inequality of Opportunity in Wages and Consumption in Egypt

Author

Listed:
  • Ragui Assaad
  • Caroline Krafft
  • John Roemer
  • Djavad Salehi‐Isfahani

Abstract

Most explanations of the recent political upheavals in Egypt since 2011 include a reference to rising inequality, but the usual indicators of income inequality in Egypt do not support that inequality was on the rise prior to the uprisings. In this paper we provide measures of inequality of opportunity in wages and consumption for Egypt at different points in time from 1988 to 2012 that shed light on the gap between popular perceptions and measured indices of inequality. Our findings indicate that although measures of inequality of wage income have increased over time in Egypt starting in 1998, the share attributable to circumstances declined steadily throughout the whole period. We attribute this decline to the fact that outcomes for individuals from a middle class background have moved closer to the outcomes of those from a poor background. The outcomes for those from privileged backgrounds remain quite apart from the rest.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & John Roemer & Djavad Salehi‐Isfahani, 2018. "Inequality of Opportunity in Wages and Consumption in Egypt," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(s1), pages 26-54, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:64:y:2018:i:s1:p:s26-s54
    DOI: 10.1111/roiw.12289
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    Cited by:

    1. Belaïd, Fateh & Flambard, Véronique, 2023. "Impacts of income poverty and high housing costs on fuel poverty in Egypt: An empirical modeling approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Shi, X., 2018. "Inequality of Opportunity in Earnings in Rural China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277016, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Krafft Caroline & Assaad Ragui & Rahman Khandker Wahedur, 2021. "Introducing the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-40, January.
    4. Vladimir Hlasny & Paolo Verme, 2022. "On the ‘Arab Inequality Puzzle’: A Comment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(2), pages 448-458, March.
    5. Paul Makdissi & Myra Yazbeck, 2023. "Measuring the contribution of stratification and social class at birth to inequality of opportunity," Working Papers 2303E Classification- I31, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    6. Kristof Bosmans & Z. Emel Öztürk, 2021. "Measurement of inequality of opportunity: A normative approach," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(2), pages 213-237, June.
    7. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad & Ruby Cheung, 2024. "Introducing the Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey 2022," HiCN Working Papers 406, Households in Conflict Network.
    8. Saidi Anis (a) , Hamdaoui Mekki (b) and Ochi Anis (b), 2021. "Inequality of Opportunity and Degree of Human Development: Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 46(1), pages 107-137, March.

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