This thesis is structured around the notion of equal opportunities, a concept first proposed by Arneson (1989), whose philosophical foundations are deeply influenced by the proposals of Rawls (1971). From this perspective there is no justification for the existence of differentiating circumstances arising from luck or natural endowment, while everything which is under the control of the person is the responsibility of the individual and society should not concern itself with establishing compensatory mechanisms. In this sense, Roemer (1998) notes that public policy should be responsible for leveling the playing field by equaling the opportunities and starting conditions of the people in order to be able to access an advantage. In the different chapters of this thesis I aim to contribute to different areas of this field by providing empirical evidence for the case of Uruguay. I focus on the link between equality of opportunities and public policy. The public policies that are analyzed put a focus on education, explicitly in some cases and indirectly in others. I consider an income transfer program, the Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social (PANES), and a policy oriented to early childhood based on increasing places in public schools. In the literature reviewed the studies that casually link targeted public policies with inequality of opportunities are scarce (Ham, 2010; Van der gaer, 2011), with a greater number of studies focusing on analyzing the impact of policies oriented to early childhood (for example, Baker et al, 2008; Urzúa & Veramendi, 2011; Conti & Heckman, 2012; Felfe & Lalive, 2014). In the latter case there is less emphasis on the effects on equality of opportunities, so it is not possible to attribute responsibility to the children for their performance. However, in Andreoli, Havnes & Lefranc (2014) an effort was made to link the literature based on equality of opportunities and the expansion of public schools aimed at early childhood. The remaining chapter focuses on the study of preferences for redistributive policies considering different normative approaches that have been used to measure equality of opportunity. There are also several papers that have attempted to understand the role played by the perceptions of fairness of individuals in the aforementioned preferences (Fong, 2001; Alesina and Angeletos, 2005; Alesina and Giuliano, 2009). I attempt to link these two areas, which have a string subjective element, with greater precision. Specifically, I study the extent to which preferences for redistribution may be determined by heterogeneous individual perceptions about inequality of opportunity. Particular emphasis is placed on the theoretical arguments underlying the idea that perceptions of fairness influence the utility of individuals, where they see their preferences for redistribution reflected. Unlike the chapters which precede it, and which focus on explanations based on the altruism of people, in this chapter the argument shifts towards the reciprocity generated by the interaction among individuals. This last element associates the role played by the sense of fairness with the identity of the people (Akerlof and Kranton, 2010), and is therefore formed from the interaction with the peer group.
Date of Award | 18 Oct 2016 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
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Supervisor | Xavier Ramos Morilla (Director) |
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- Public policy
- Equality of opportunity
- Preferences for redistribution
Essays on equality of opportunity and public policy
Salas Beretche, G. R. (Author). 18 Oct 2016
Student thesis: Doctoral thesis
Salas Beretche, G. R. (Author),
Ramos Morilla, X. (Director),
18 Oct 2016Student thesis: Doctoral thesis
Student thesis: Doctoral thesis