Not Playing Favorites: Parents and the Value of Equal Opportunity

Jan 1, 2025
By: Berry J; Dizon-Ross R; Jagnani M American Economic Journal Applied Economics 117 - 160
Abstract
We conduct two experiments to identify the value parents place on equality of opportunity when investing in children. The experiments exogenously vary short-run returns to educational investments to identify the weight placed on equalizing “opportunity” (child-level investment) relative to maximizing “returns” (total household earnings) or to equalizing “outcomes” (child-level expected earnings). While parents in both experiments place some weight on maximizing returns, they also display a strong preference for equalizing opportunities and are willing to forgo 15–45 percent of their earnings to do so. Parents in higher-income countries also care about equalizing outcomes, while parents in lower-income countries do not.
Copy Citation Berry, J., Dizon-Ross, R., & Jagnani, M. (2025). Not Playing Favorites: Parents and the Value of Equal Opportunity. American Economic Journal Applied Economics, 17(3), 117-160. doi:10.1257/APP.20220601 Copied to clipboard.
View on Publisher Site