Inequality of Opportunity Among Egyptian Children
This paper analyzes the level and trends in inequality of opportunity among Egyptian children during the 2000s. The analysis uses severall tools, including comparison of the distributions of early risks and outcomes across circumstance groups; esti...
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank Group, Washington, DC
2014
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/09/20188963/inequality-opportunity-among-egyptian-children http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20334 |
Summary: | This paper analyzes the level and trends
in inequality of opportunity among Egyptian children during
the 2000s. The analysis uses severall tools, including
comparison of the distributions of early risks and outcomes
across circumstance groups; estimation of the human
opportunity index; measurement of the relative contributions
of circumstances to inequality of opportunity; and
decomposition of changes in inequality of opportunity and
factors driving them over time. Egypt has made significant
progress in the availability of and access to basic services
for children and mothers, in some cases with an overall
pro-poor effect. In particular, appreciable improvements
have been made in healthcare utilization before and during
pregnancy and immunizations. As a result, there has been a
decline in inequality of opportunity over the past decade,
largely attributable to increased coverage by basic services
rather than through redistributive effects. However, there
are areas of persistent and emerging concerns, including
postnatal care utilization, nutrition, and schooling.
Nutrition indicators have deteriorated during the 2000s,
affecting a quarter of children regardless of their
circumstances. Wide disparities in school enrollment
persist, notably at the higher levels. Large regional
disparities in access to basic infrastructure exist, with
Upper Egypt and the Frontier Governorates lagging the rest
of the country. Family background, especially parents'
education and wealth, and geographic factors are key factors
affecting child development outcomes in Egypt. While
interventions targeted at the less advantaged circumstance
groups may offer significant potential for enhancing overall
equity in postnatal care utilization and schooling, a more
inclusive approach would be needed to improve child
nutrition outcomes. |
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