arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Unpacking the Contribution of Birth Circumstances to Inequality Using a Shapley Decomposition: The Case of Chile

Carlos Gradín & Gabriela Zapata‐Román

Review of Income and Wealth2026https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.70064article
AJG 3
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

This study examines the role of inherited circumstances in labor market inequality of opportunity in Chile. We estimate their contribution as the change in total inequality after removing their influence. Since this contribution may differ depending on whether it is measured before or after removing the influence of other factors, we use the Shapley decomposition method. Traditional path‐dependent decompositions misrepresent the role of circumstances by ignoring their interaction with inter‐ and intra‐group inequality—overstating (Gini) or understating (entropy‐based measures). Circumstances explained 27%–28% of inequality in 2022 using entropy measures, and 17% when emphasizing outcomes for the poorest. In contrast, the Gini index attributes 36% of inequality to circumstances. Despite some fluctuations, inequality of opportunity has remained persistent and a key driver of overall inequality since the financial crisis. We also apply a Recentered Influence Function decomposition to examine the specific contributions of different population groups.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.70064

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{carlos2026,
  title        = {{Unpacking the Contribution of Birth Circumstances to Inequality Using a Shapley Decomposition: The Case of Chile}},
  author       = {Carlos Gradín & Gabriela Zapata‐Román},
  journal      = {Review of Income and Wealth},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.70064},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Unpacking the Contribution of Birth Circumstances to Inequality Using a Shapley Decomposition: The Case of Chile

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.