Abstract

This paper develops an analysis of circumstance-specific inequality of opportunity in Chile. We provide a disaggregated analysis, in regions, gender, and cohorts of inequality of opportunity measures which examine the specific contribution of each circumstance to the total inequality of opportunity. We try to understand the sources of inequality for particular groups of the population, finding that the effect of some circumstances is not homogeneous. In the Metropolitan region, both at the household level and for men and women, inequality of opportunities (IOp) has increased from 2006 to 2013. The highest IOp is found in the Metropolitan region and the lowest in the North of the country. IOp estimates are about four times higher in the Capital than in the North. Regarding gender differences, women’s income represents about 60 per cent of men’s income nationally, and the gender gap has worsened since 2006. The group of women aged 25-35 generally show higher IOp estimates than their male peers. The highest IOp gaps are for these young women when they are the head of the household. The most relevant circumstance is parental education, and particularly in the Metropolitan region, its weight has increased during these seven years. We find higher inequality of opportunity estimates using the Gini index, more than double those obtained with mean logarithmic deviation.