Ex-ante and ex-post measurement of equality of opportunity in health: a normative decomposition

Abstract

This paper proposes and discusses two different approaches to the definition of inequality in health: the ex-ante and the ex-post approach. It proposes strategies for measuring inequality of opportunity in health based on the path-independent Atkinson equality index. The proposed methodology is illustrated using data from the British Household Panel Survey; the results suggest that in the period 2000–2005, at least one-third of the observed health equalities in the UK were equalities of opportunity.