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Equity, efficiency and inequality traps: A research agenda

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  • François Bourguignon
  • Francisco Ferreira
  • Michael Walton

Abstract

This paper discusses a research agenda that arises from unanswered questions and unresolved issues considered in the World Bank’s World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development. After formalizing the key concepts of equity; equality of opportunity; and efficiency, and proposing a definition for an equitable development policy, the paper discusses the concept of inequality traps, around which the research agenda is structured. Four broad groups of research questions are highlighted: those revolving around the measurement of inequality of opportunity and the diagnostics for the existence of an inequality trap; those dealing with the causes of inequality traps; the quantification of their efficiency costs; and those related to how institutions (including governments) evolve to overcome inequality traps. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007

Suggested Citation

  • François Bourguignon & Francisco Ferreira & Michael Walton, 2007. "Equity, efficiency and inequality traps: A research agenda," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 5(2), pages 235-256, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:5:y:2007:i:2:p:235-256
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-006-9042-8
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