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Past Event
Seminar

"Measuring Equity: Lessons from the Human Opportunity Index and Inequality of Educational Opportunity in the Middle East" with Atieh Vahidmanesh

Open to the Public

A seminar with Atieh Vahidmanesh, MEI Research Fellow and Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Economics, Virginia Tech. Part of the Middle East Initiative Research Fellow Seminar Series.

Date: Time: - Location: Littauer Building - Belfer Center Library, Room 369
Young Jordanian girls read at a government primary school in Amman, Jordan.

About

A seminar with Atieh Vahidmanesh, MEI Research Fellow and Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Economics, Virginia Tech. Part of the Middle East Initiative Research Fellow Seminar Series.

Moderated by Tarek Masoud, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.

What is the condition of inequality in the Middle East? Answering this question requires greater understanding of the meaning of inequality. It appears there is a general sense of unfairness in the region. Unfairness, however, cannot be captured by traditional measures to equity such as by the Gini coefficient.  This talk will examine the Human Opportunity Index and Estimate of Inequality of Opportunity, two novel tools that shed light on equity and fairness conditions in the region. The preliminary results show that condition of inequality is acceptable and quite low in the realm of public services but it is quite high for education outcomes.

For more about Atieh Vahidmanesh, click here.