Do Our Children Have a Chance?

José R. Molinas Vega, Ricardo Paes De Barros, Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi, Marcelo Giugale

Description

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is making progress in opening the doors of development to all. But it still has a long way to go. At the current pace, it would take, on average, a generation for the region to achieve universal access to the basic services that make for human opportunity. Intra-county regional disparities are large, and barely converging.
This book assesses the status and evolution of human opportunity in LAC. It builds on the 2008 publication, "Measuring Inequality of Opportunity," in several directions. First, it uses newly-available data to expand the set of opportunities and personal circumstances under analysis. The data is representative of some 200 million children living in 19 countries over the last 15 years. Second, it compares human opportunity in LAC with that of developed countries, among them the U.S. and France, two very different models of social policy. This allows for illuminating exercises in benchmarking and extrapolation. And third, it looks at human opportunity within countries-across regions, states and cities. This gives us a preliminary glimpse at the geographic dimension of equity, and at the role that different federal structures play.

Sujets

• Equal opportunity
• Equity
• Poverty reduction
• Social change

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 16 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 36
• EAN13: 9780821389027
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT
Poverty
Do Our Children
Have a Chance?
A Human Opportunity Report for
Latin America and the Caribbean
José R. Molinas Vega
Ricardo Paes de Barros
Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi
Marcelo Giugale
with
Louise J. Cord, Carola Pessino, and Amer HasanDo Our Children Have a Chance?Do Our Children Have
a Chance?
A Human Opportunity Report for
Latin America and the Caribbean
José R. Molinas Vega
Ricardo Paes de Barros
Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi
Marcelo Giugale
with Louise J. Cord, Carola Pessino, and Amer Hasan© 2012 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /
International Development Association or
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: [phone]
Internet: www.worldbank.org
1 2 3 4 14 13 12 11
This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The
findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect
the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors or the governments they
represent.
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ISBN (paper): 978-0-8213-8699-6
ISBN (electronic): 978-0-8213-8902-7
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-8699-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Do our children have a chance? : the human opportunity report for Latin America and the
Caribbean / José R. Molinas Vega ... [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8213-8699-6 — ISBN 978-0-8213-8902-7 (electronic)
1. Children—Latin America—Social conditions. 2. Children—Latin America—Economic
conditions. 3. Children—Caribbean Area—Social conditions. 4. Children—Caribbean
Area—Economic conditions. I. Molinas, Jose R., 1966-
HQ792.L3D62 2011
305.23098—dc23
2011038591
Cover image: Road photo by Daniel Zamora/SXC; child photo and photo illustration by
Ari Ribas and Ane Castro
Cover design: Naylor Design and Quantum ThinkContents
Acknowledgments xi
Contributors xiii
Abbreviations xv
Overview Do Our Children Have a Chance? A Human
Opportunity Report for Latin America
and the Caribbean 1
How Does the HOI Work? 2
Is Human Opportunity Expanding in LAC? 3
Latin America versus Rich Countries 5
Country, State, City 5
What Can Be Done? 6
Chapter 1 How F ar Are We from Ensuring Opportunities
for All? The Human Opportunity Index 9
Key Concepts: Basic Goods and Services,
Universality, Equality of Opportunity
and Circumstances 10
Constructing a Measure of Progress toward
Basic Opportunities for All 15
v vi Contents
Empirical Considerations for Constructing
the Human Opportunity Index 23
Annex A1.1. A Numerical Example of
Computing the HOI 29
Annex A1.2. Numerical Illustration of the
Decomposition of the HOI 32
Annex A1.3. The Algebra of Decomposing
the Human Opportunity Index 36
Annex A1.4. Indicators 37
Annex A1.5. Choosing the Aggregation Sequence 38
Notes 40
Bibliography 42
Chapter 2 The State of Human Opportunities for
Children in the Latin America and the
Caribbean Region: 1995–2010 45
Progress in Improving Human Opportunities
in LAC—Although Universality Remains
a Generation Away 47
Opportunities for Children to Access Basic
Services in the LAC Region 50
Expanding Human Opportunities in Latin
America and the Caribbean: 1995–2010 54
Unpacking Changes in the HOI: Scale,
Equity, and Evolving Circumstances 55
The Inequality of Opportunity Profile 63
Annex 66
Notes 84
Bibliography 84
Chapter 3 Human Opportunities in a Global Context:
Benchmarking LAC to Other Regions
of the World 85
HOI for Quality Education 86
The HOI for Housing 94
Understanding the Long-Run Evolution
of the HOI 99
Conclusion 101
Annex 104
Notes 111
Bibliography 111Contents vii
Chapter 4 Human Opportunities at the Subnational
Level in Latin America and the Caribbean 113
The Subnational Human Opportunity
Indices: Some Stylized Facts 114
Heterogeneity in Subnational HOIs 121
Equalizing Regional Opportunities 129
Summary and Conclusions 134
Annex 136
Notes 141
Bibliography 144
Index 147
Boxes
1.1 Computing the Penalty for Inequality of Opportunity 17
1.2 The Six Steps of Building the Human Opportunity 27
3.1 The PISA Data 88
Figures
O.1 The 2010 HOI for LAC 4
1.1 Percentage of 16-Year-Olds with Access to Safe
Water: Equal Opportunity Allocation 18
1.2 Pear-Olds with
Water: Unequal Opportunity Allocation 19
1.3 Penalty for Inequality of Opportunity and the
Human Opportunity Index 20
2.1 Ranking of the Overall HOI, 2010 53
3.1 HOI Access to Sanitation, Public Connection Only 97
3.2 HOI Public and
Private Connections 98
3.3 HOI Freedom from Severe Overcrowding, More
than 1.5 People per Room 100
3.4 HOI Overcrowding and Sanitation: United States
1960–2005 and France 1968–1999 101
4.1 Overall HOI circa 2008 for the Capital City and the
Rest of the Country 116
4.2 Over117
4.3 HOI in Housing circa 2008 for the Capital City and
the Rest of the Country 118viii Contents
4.4 HOI in Education circa 2008 for the Capital City
and the Rest of the Country 119
4.5 Annual Growth of HOI between circa 1995 and 2008:
Capital Cities versus the Rest of the Country 120
4.6 Annual Growth of HOI between circa 1995 and 2008 121
4.7 Overall HOI circa 1995 and 2008 122
4.8 Dispersion of HOI circa 1995 and 2008 123
4.9 Decrease of Regional Dispersion in Most Countries 125
Tables
A1.1a Distribution of a Service 29
A1.1b Group-Specific Coverage Rates 29
A1.1c Opportunity Gaps (for Vulnerable Groups) 29
A1.1d Distribution of the Population 30
A1.1e Opportunity Gaps as a Proportion of the
Total Population 30
A1.1f Opportunity Gaps as a Proportion of the Population
Covered 30
A1.1g Improperly Allocated Services 30
A1.1h Improperly Allocated Services as a Proportion
of the Total Population 31
A1.1i Improperly
of the Population Covered 31
A1.2.1a Distribution of Population A 33
A1.2.1b Group-Specific Coverage Rates for Population A 33
A1.2.1c Computing the HOI for Population A 33
A1.2.2a Distribution of Population B 33
A1.2.2b age Rates for Population A 33
A1.2.2c opulation B with the
Coverage Rates from Population A 33
A1.2.3a Distribution of Population B 35
A1.2.3b Group-Specific Coverage Rates (Structure from
Population A, Average Level from Population B) 35
A1.2.3c Computing the HOI for Population B with the
Structure of Coverage Rates from Population A and
Average Level from Population B 35
A1.2.4a Distribution of P35
A1.2.4b Group-Specific Coverage Rates for Population B 35
A1.2.4c Computing the HOI for Population B 35
A1.4 Definitions of Indicators 37