Assessing Policy Effectiveness to Measure Inequality of Opportunity in Wellbeing and Education: Case of Tunisia

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the effects and evolution of unequal opportunities on the distribution of wellbeing indicators covering the period 2005 to 2010. We used parametric and non-parametric approach for well-being and Dissimilarity-Index for education. Father's education, residence area, and connection to drinking water appear to be the most important background variables affecting well-being profile. Child’s sex appears to be the most important determinant of the accessibility to education. Policy makers must make appropriate policies to reduce intergenerational transmission of parental background and sex discrimination and to overcome traps of inequality for future generations. We found that the place of residence with a contribution rate of 22.25%. Thus, the influence of the place of residence on the distribution of accessibility to education can be explained by the fact that the inhabitants of rural areas remain disadvantaged compared to urban dwellers in terms of lack of basic infrastructure (the distances that separate households from public primary or secondary establishments).