Inequality of opportunity in Australia

Inequality of opportunity arises when a person's chances of economic success are largely determined by the birth lottery, or external factors in later life, rather than by personal efforts. A high level of inequality of opportunity holds people back from realising their potential and from contributing productively to society. This project will develop new econometric approaches for identifying opportunity gaps in Australia and other developed countries. The project will focus on the impact of inequality of opportunity on income, health and education outcomes with special emphasis placed on Indigenous and migrant populations. The findings will help formulate cost-efficient policy interventions for levelling the economic playing field.