The article evaluates the contribution of inequality of opportunity to earnings inequality
in Egypt and analyzes its evolution across three time periods and different population
groups. It provides parametric and nonparametric estimates of a lower bound for
the degree of inequality of opportunity for wage and salary workers. On average, the
contribution of opportunity-shaping circumstances to earnings inequality declined
from 22 percent in 1988 to 15 percent in 2006. Levels of inequality of opportunity
were fairly stable while earnings differentials widened markedly, leading to a decline in
the share of inequality attributable to opportunities. Father’s background and geographic
origins had the largest effect on earnings, although the impact of mother’s education
has risen in recent years. The degree of inequality of opportunity did not differ
significantly by gender or rural–urban area, although the incidence was lower for men
and for rural areas. The results indicate an increase in inequality of opportunity across
age groups, but there is some evidence that opportunity differentials have been declining
for the oldest generation. J