Social justice has been a central theme in the political turmoil affecting the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA). Perplexingly, standard measures of inequality are not particularly high for MENA
countries. One possible explanation for this apparent contradiction is that observed inequality may
be masking a large share of inequality of opportunity, the unjustifiable type of inequality associated
with social class or other circumstances over which an individual has no control. In this paper we
extend the literature on inequality of opportunity in the MENA region by providing estimates of
inequality of opportunity in incomes and consumption for Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. Our results
show low levels of inequality of opportunity, as well as inequality, in income measures in the
countries examined. Social justice has been a central theme in the political turmoil affecting the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA). Perplexingly, standard measures of inequality are not particularly high for MENA
countries. One possible explanation for this apparent contradiction is that observed inequality may
be masking a large share of inequality of opportunity, the unjustifiable type of inequality associated
with social class or other circumstances over which an individual has no control. In this paper we
extend the literature on inequality of opportunity in the MENA region by providing estimates of
inequality of opportunity in incomes and consumption for Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. Our results
show low levels of inequality of opportunity, as well as inequality, in income measures in the
countries examined.