Quantifying Changes in Economic and Social Justice: The U.S. 1960-2000

The notion of Equality of Opportunity (EO) has pervaded much of economic and social justice policy and research over the last half century. The sense that differences in agent outcomes that are the consequence of their individual choice and effort are acceptable, whereas variation in agent outcomes that are the consequence of circumstances beyond their control are not has underpinned much gender, race, education and family law and policy over that period, making it a many dimensioned issue. Here a new approach to evaluating levels of and changes in EO which readily accommodates these many dimensions is introduced and progress in the extent of equality of opportunity in the United States is studied over the period 1960-2000. The evidence is that gains were made in all categories throughout the period, more so for boys than girls (though girls were better off in an EO sense to start with), more so for children in single parent circumstances, and more so for the poorly endowed.