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Reproducibility package for Inequality Of Opportunity In South Asia: The Puzzle Of Educational Gains Without Consumption Gains

2026
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Reference ID
RR_ASI_2026_565
Author(s)
Maurizio Bussolo, Vito Peragine, Fabian Reutzel
Collections
World Bank Policy Research Working Papers
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JSON
Created on
Apr 06, 2026
Last modified
Apr 06, 2026
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  • Overview
  • Reproducibility Package
  • Description
  • Scope and coverage
  • Disclaimer
  • Access and rights
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  • Information on metadata

    • Overview

    Abstract

    More than two decades of sustained economic growth in South Asia brought significant reductions in poverty, yet inclusive social progress has remained elusive. Using a pseudo-panel approach with a large-scale harmonized dataset of 19 million observations across seven South Asian countries, we trace the evolution of inequality of opportunity (IOp) across cohorts born 1950s-1990s for three outcomes: education, labor markets, and consumption. We find substantial improvements in educational opportunities and unchanging high levels of IOp for consumption. Three mechanisms explain this divergence. First, educational expansion focused on basic schooling for the 1950s-80s cohorts—a skill level with limited labor market returns. Second, despite narrowing gender gaps in educational attainment, female labor force participation remains stubbornly low across cohorts. Third, even among equally educated individuals, circumstances continue to predict labor outcomes, suggesting persistent structural barriers to labor market access and fair rewards.

    Reproducibility Package

    Scripts
    Get Reproducibility Package
    File name
    RR_ASI_2026_565
    Zip package
    RR_ASI_2026_565.zip
    Title
    Reproducibility package for Inequality Of Opportunity In South Asia: The Puzzle Of Educational Gains Without Consumption Gains
    Date
    2026-03
    Dependencies
    R dependencies are listed in the file renv.lock. Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.
    Instructions
    See README in reproducibility package.
    Notes
    Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.
    Source code repository
    Repository name URI
    Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) https://reproducibility.worldbank.org
    Software
    Name
    R
    Version
    4.5.1
    Name
    Stata
    Version
    19.5 MP

    Reproducibility

    Technology environment

    Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
    • OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
    • Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6226R CPU @ 2.90GHz
    • Memory available: 32.0 GB
    Technology requirements

    Runtime: 7.5 hours.
    Reproduction instructions

    Once users have access to all the data, to reproduce the findings, a new user needs to:

    1. Update the root directory path in the 1_main_cleaning.do do-file and run the code.
    2. Update the root directory path in the 2_main_analysis.R script and run the code.

    Data

    Datasets
    Name
    World Development Indicators (WDI)
    Note
    Source: World Bank. Indicators used: Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) (SL.TLF.ACTI.ZS), Consumer price index (2010 = 100) (FP.CPI.TOTL), Population ages 15-64, total (SP.POP.1564.TO). Access date: January 28, 2025 (labor force participation rate), August 22, 2024 (consumer price index), and August 5, 2022 (population). File location: "data\raw\auxiliary". File names: cpi2010.csv; ILO_lfp_model.csv; population.csv.
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
    Data URL
    https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators
    Citation
    World Bank. (n.d.). "World Development Indicators" [dataset]. World Bank. Available at https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators. Accessed on August 5, 2022, August 22, 2024, and January 28, 2025.
    Name
    Labor Force Participation Rate (Labor Force Survey Estimate)
    Note
    Source: ILOSTAT’s Labour Force Statistics (LFS). Access date: February 1, 2025. File location: "data\raw\auxiliary". File names: "ILO_lfp_lfs.csv".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
    Data URL
    https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator/?id=EAP_DWAP_SEX_AGE_RT_A&lang=en&type=label&format=.csv&channel=ilostat&title=labour-force-participation-rate-by-sex-and-age-annual
    Citation
    International Labour Organization. (2020). ILO modelled estimates database, ILOSTAT [database]. Available from https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/. Accessed on February 1, 2025.
    Name
    Gini estimates
    Note
    Source: World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP). Access date: October 28, 2025 (release 20250930_2017_01_02_PROD) and May 7, 2025 (release 20240627_2017_01_02_PROD). File location: "data\raw\auxiliary". File names: pip_20240627_2017_01_02_PROD.csv and pip_20250930_2017_01_02_PROD.csv.
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
    Data URL
    https://pip.worldbank.org/
    Citation
    World Bank. (2025). Poverty and Inequality Platform (versions 20250930_2017 and release 20240627_2017) [dataset]. World Bank Group. Available at: www.pip.worldbank.org. Accessed on October 28, 2025 and May 7, 2025.
    Name
    Inequality of Opportunity Estimates
    Note
    Source: Global Estimates of Opportunity and Mobility. Access date: February 7, 2025. File location: "data\raw\auxiliary". File name: GEOM.csv.
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://geom.ecineq.org/
    Citation
    GEOM: Global Estimates of Opportunity and Mobility, London School of Economics and Political Science and University of Bari, Version 1, released on June 6th 2024.
    Name
    Survey of the Afghan People (2004-2019)
    Note
    Source: Asia Foundation. Access date: November 18, 2022. File location: "data\raw\auxiliary_non_public". File name: "2019_Afghan_data_STATA.dta".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.26193/VDDO0X
    Citation
    Asia Foundation. (2019). Survey of the Afghan People (2004-2019) [dataset]. Available at https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.26193/VDDO0X. Accessed on November 18, 2022.
    Name
    Manual mappings across different geographic levels and demographic groups
    Note
    Source: Author’s construction. File location: "data\raw\auxiliary\geo_level" and "data\raw\auxiliary\demo".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Name
    National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) – Raw
    Note
    Source: Central Statistics Organization (CSO). Years: 2007-2008, 2011-2012. Access date: August 27, 2021. File location: "data\raw\HHS\AFG\NRVA".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/935; https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/5230
    Citation
    Central Statistics Organization (CSO). National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA), Afghanistan 2007–2008 and 2011–2012 [dataset]. Available from the IHSN Microdata Catalog: https://catalog.ihsn.org/. Accessed on August 27, 2021.
    Name
    National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) – Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Central Statistics Organization (CSO), accessed via the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 2007-2008, 2011-2012. Access date: January 30, 2023. File location: "data\raw\HHS\AFG\SARMD". File names: AFG_2008_NRVA_v01_M_v01_A_SARMD_IND.dta; and AFG_2012_NRVA_v01_M_v01_A_SARMD_IND.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Central Statistics Organization (CSO). National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA), Afghanistan 2007–2008 and 2011–2012 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on January 30, 2023.
    Name
    Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Central Statistics Organization (CSO). Years: 2013-2014, 2016-2017. Access date: August 27, 2021. File location: "data\raw\HHS\AFG\ALCS".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/6557; https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/8014
    Citation
    Central Statistics Organization (CSO). Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), Afghanistan 2013–2014 and 2016–2017 [dataset]. Available from the IHSN Microdata Catalog: https://catalog.ihsn.org/. Accessed on August 27, 2021.
    Name
    Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Central Statistics Organization (CSO), accessed via the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 2013-2014. Access date: January 28, 2023. File location: "data\raw\HHS\AFG\SARMD". File name: "AFG_2016_LCS_v01_M_v01_A_SARMD_IND.dta".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Central Statistics Organization (CSO). Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), Afghanistan 2013-2014 and 2016–2017 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on January 28, 2023.
    Name
    Integrated Expenditure and Labor Force Survey (IELFS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA). Year: 2020. Access date: August 27, 2021. File location: "data\raw\HHS\AFG\IELFS".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://fscluster.org/afghanistan/document/income-and-expenditure-labor
    Citation
    National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA). Integrated Expenditure and Labor Force Survey (IELFS), Afghanistan 2020 [dataset]. Available from https://fscluster.org/afghanistan/document/income-and-expenditure-labor. Accessed on August 27, 2021.
    Name
    Household Income and Expenditure Survey (BGD-HIES) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), accessed via the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016-2017, 2022. Access date: April 26, 2022 (2000-2017) and November 3, 2023 (2022). File location: "data\raw\HHS\BGD\SARMD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Household Income and Expenditure Survey (BGD-HIES), Bangladesh 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016-2017 and 2022 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on April 26, 2022 and November 3, 2023.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (BGD-LFS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Years: 2005-2006, 2010, 2013, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2022. Access date: December 13, 2025 (2005, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2022) and January 14, 2026 (2016). File location: "data\raw\LFS\BGD\LFS" and "data\raw\LFS\BGD\QLFS".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://webapps.ilo.org/surveyLib/index.php/catalog/7874; https://webapps.ilo.org/surveyLib/index.php/catalog/7873; https://webapps.ilo.org/surveyLib/index.php/catalog/7872; https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/7277; https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/8021; https://webapps.ilo.org/surveyLib/index.php/catalog/8538
    Citation
    Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Labor Force Survey (BGD-LFS), Bangladesh: 2005-2006, 2010, 2013, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2022 [dataset]. Available from the IHSN Microdata Catalog and the ILOSTAT (ILO Department of Statistics): https://webapps.ilo.org/surveyLib/; https://catalog.ihsn.org/. Accessed on December 13, 2025 and January 14, 2026.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (BGD-LFS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), accessed via the Global Labor Database (GLD). Years: 2005-2006, 2010, 2013, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2022. Access date: January 25, 2026 (2005, 2010, 2013, 2016) and December 13, 2025 (2015, 2022). File location: "data\raw\LFS\BGD\GLD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Labor Force Survey (BGD-LFS), Bangladesh 2005-2006, 2010, 2013, 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2022 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the Global Labor Database (GLD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/gld/Support/A%20-%20Guides%20and%20Documentation/GLD%20Manual%20Files/GLD%20content%2C%20storage%2C%20and%20access.html#data-storage-platforms-and-access-rules. Accessed on January 25, 2026 and December 13, 2025.
    Name
    Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: National Statistics Bureau (NSB). Years: 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022. Access date: August 27, 2021 (2003, 2007, 2012, 2017) and March 6, 2025 (2022). File location: "data\raw\HHS\BTN\BLSS".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/23; https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/24; https://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/3250.
    Citation
    National Statistics Bureau (NSB). Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS), Bhutan 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022 [dataset]. Available from the IHSN Microdata Catalog: https://catalog.ihsn.org/. Accessed on August 27, 2021 and March 6, 2025.
    Name
    Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: National Statistics Bureau (NSB), accessed via the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022. Access date: December 18, 2022 (2003, 2007, 2012, 2017) and March 6, 2025 (2022). File location: "data\raw\HHS\BTN\SARMD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    National Statistics Bureau (NSB). Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS), Bhutan 2003, 2007, 2012, 2017, 2022 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on December 18, 2022 and March 6, 2025.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (BHT-LFS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: National Statistics Bureau (NSB), accessed via South Asia Labor Force Surveys repository (SARLAB). Years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022. Access date: June 5, 2025. File location: "data\raw\LFS\BHT\SARLAB". File names: BTN_2018_LFS_v01_M_v01_A_SARLAB_IND.dta, BTN_2019_LFS_v01_M_v01_A_SARLAB_IND.dta, BTN_2020_LFS_v01_M_v01_A_SARLAB_IND.dta, BTN_2022_LFS_v01_M_v01_A_SARLAB_IND.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    National Statistics Bureau (NSB). Labor Force Survey (BHT-LFS), Bhutan 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Region Labor Force Surveys. Accessed on June 5, 2025.
    Name
    India Human Development Survey (IHDS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) - University of Maryland. Years: 2005, 2011. Access date: August 16, 2025. File location: "data\raw\HHS\IND\IHDS".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    CC BY-NC 4.0
    Data URL
    https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/DSDR/studies/22626; https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/DSDR/studies/36151
    Citation
    Desai, Sonalde, Vanneman, Reeve, and National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2005. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-08-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR22626.v12 [https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/DSDR/studies/22626] Desai, Sonalde, and Vanneman, Reeve. India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011-12. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-08-08. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36151.v6 [https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/DSDR/studies/36151]
    Name
    Indian National Sample Survey (NSS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Years: 1993-1994, 2004-2005, 2009-2010, 2011-2012. Access date: April 27, 2025 (1993) and January 23, 2023 (2004, 2009, 2011). File location: "data\raw\HHS\IND\NSS".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    http://www.icssrdataservice.in/datarepository/index.php/catalog/8; http://www.icssrdataservice.in/datarepository/index.php/catalog/3; http://www.icssrdataservice.in/datarepository/index.php/catalog/89; http://www.icssrdataservice.in/datarepository/index.php/catalog/135
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). National Sample Survey (NSS), India 1993-1994 (50th), 2004-2005 (61st), 2009-2010 (66th), 2011-2012 (68th) [dataset]. Available from ICSSR Data Service: Social Science Data Repository: http://www.icssrdataservice.in/datarepository/. Accessed on April 27, 2025 and January 23, 2023.
    Name
    Indian National Sample Survey (NSS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Accessed via the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD) and the Global Monitoring Database (GMD). Years: 1993-1994, 2004-2005, 2009-2010, 2011-2012. Access date: April 21, 2025 (1993-1994), April 18, 2025 (2004-2005, 2009-2010) and March 6, 2025 (2011-2012). File location: "data\raw\HHS\IND\SARMD". File names: IND_1993_NSS50-SCH1.0_v01_M_v04_A_SARMD_IND.dta, IND_2004_NSS61-SCH1.0_v01_M_v05_A_SARMD_IND_GMD_ALL.dta, IND_2009_NSS66-SCH1.0-T1_v01_M_v05_A_SARMD_IND_GMD_ALL.dta, IND_2011_NSS-SCH1_V01_M_V06_A_GMD_ALL.dta, IND_2011_NSS-SCH2_v02_M_v01_A_GMD_ALL.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). National Sample Survey (NSS), India 1993-1994 (50th), 2004-2005 (61st), 2009-2010 (66th), 2011-2012 (68th) [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD) and the Global Monitoring Database (GMD). Accessed on April 21, 2025, April 18, 2025 and March 6, 2025.
    Name
    Indian Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) - Raw
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Years: 2022-2023. Access date: March 6, 2025. File location: "data\raw\HHS\IND\HCES\2022".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    CC BY-NC 4.0
    Data URL
    https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/224
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), India 2022-2023 [dataset]. Available from the Government of India of Statistics and Programme Implementation Online Microdata Library: https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/224. Accessed on March 6, 2025.
    Name
    Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), accessed via the Global Monitoring Database (GMD). Years: 2022-2023. Access date: March 6, 2025. File location: "data\raw\HHS\IND\SARMD". File names: IND_2022_HCES_v02_M_v01_A_GMD_ALL.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), India 2022-2023 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the Global Monitoring Database (GMD). Accessed on March 6, 2025.
    Name
    Indian Employment and Unemployment Survey (EUS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Years: 1987-1988, 1993-1994, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2011-2012. Access date: December 13, 2025 (1987-1988, 1993-1994, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2007-2008) and January 14, 2026 (2009-2010, 2011-2012). File location: "data\raw\LFS\IND\EUS".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/55; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/77; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/90 ; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/109; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/113; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/117; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/124; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/127
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Employment and Unemployment Survey (EUS), India 1987-1988; 1993-1994; 1999-2000 2004-2005; 2005-2006; 2007-2008; 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 [dataset]. Available from the MOSPI Microdata Catalog: https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/. Accessed on December 13, 2025 and January 14, 2026.
    Name
    Indian Employment and Unemployment Survey (EUS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), accessed via the Global Labor Database (GLD). Years: 1983, 1987-1988, 1993-1994, 1999-2000, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2011-2012. Access date: January 25, 2026. File location: "data\raw\LFS\IND\GLD". File names: IND_1983_EUS_V01_M_V07_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_1987_EUS_V01_M_V06_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_1993_EUS_V01_M_V06_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2004_EUS_V01_M_V05_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2005_EUS_V01_M_V05_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2007_EUS_V01_M_V05_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2009_EUS_V01_M_V07_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2011_EUS_V01_M_V07_A_GLD_ALL.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Employment and Unemployment Survey (EUS), India 1983-1984; 1987-1988; 1993-1994; 2004-2005 ; 2005-2006; 2007-2008; 2009-2010; 2011-2012 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the Global Labor Database (GLD). Available from https://worldbank.github.io/gld/Support/A%20-%20Guides%20and%20Documentation/GLD%20Manual%20Files/GLD%20content%2C%20storage%2C%20and%20access.html#data-storage-platforms-and-access-rules. Accessed on January 25, 2026.
    Name
    Indian Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Years: 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023. Access date: December 13, 2025. File location: "data\raw\LFS\IND\PLFS".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/204; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/216; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/217; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/206; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/214; https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/index.php/catalog/210
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS). India 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 [dataset]. Available from the MOSPI Microdata Catalog: https://microdata.gov.in/NADA/. Accessed on December 13, 2025
    Name
    Indian Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), accessed via the Global Labor Database (GLD). Years: 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023. Access date: January 25, 2026. File location: "data\raw\LFS\IND\GLD". File names: IND_2017_PLFS_V02_M_V04_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2018_PLFS_V02_M_V04_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2019_PLFS_V02_M_V04_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2020_PLFS_V01_M_V04_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2021_PLFS_V01_M_V05_A_GLD_ALL.dta, IND_2022_PLFS_V01_M_V02_A_GLD_ALL.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS), India 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the Global Labor Database (GLD) available from https://worldbank.github.io/gld/Support/A%20-%20Guides%20and%20Documentation/GLD%20Manual%20Files/GLD%20content%2C%20storage%2C%20and%20access.html#data-storage-platforms-and-access-rules. Accessed on January 25, 2026.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (NPL - LFS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Years: 1998-1999, 2008-2009, 2017-2018. Access date: December 13, 2025. File location: "data\raw\LFS\NPL\LFS".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/1; https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/2; https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/88
    Citation
    Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Labor Force Survey (NPL- LFS) Nepal 1998-1999, 2008-2009, 2017-2018 [dataset]. Available from https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/. Accessed on December 13, 2025.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (NPL - LFS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), accessed via the Global Labor Database (GLD). Years: 1998-1999, 2008-2009, 2017-2018. Access date: January 25, 2026 (1998-1999, 2008-2009) and December 13, 2025 (2017-2018). File location: "data\raw\LFS\NPL\GLD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Labor Force Survey. Nepal 1998-1999, 2008-2009, 2017-2018 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the Global Labor Database (GLD). Available from https://worldbank.github.io/gld/Support/A%20-%20Guides%20and%20Documentation/GLD%20Manual%20Files/GLD%20content%2C%20storage%2C%20and%20access.html#data-storage-platforms-and-access-rules. Accessed on January 25,2026 and December 13, 2025.
    Name
    Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Years: 1995-1996, 2003-2004, 2010-11, 2022-2023. Access date: December 5, 2022 (1995-1996, 2003-2004), August 27, 2021 (2010-11) and April 3, 2025 (2022-2023). File location: "data\raw\HHS\NPL\NLSS".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/7; https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/9; https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/37; https://data.nsonepal.gov.np/dataset/b6c3c19b-4b15-44bf-8653-1571e76dad14/resource/e2d52301-1c25-498b-8732-4326c62a2372/download/nlss-iv.pdf
    Citation
    Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS). Nepal. 1995-1996, 2003-2004, 2010-11, 2022-2023 [dataset]. Available from Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/. Accessed on December 5, 2022, August 27, 2021, and April 3, 2025.
    Name
    Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), accessed via South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 1995-1996, 2003-2004, 2010-11, 2022-2023. Access date: December 5, 2022 (1995-1996, 2003-2004), August 27, 2021 (2010-11) and April 3, 2025 (2022-2023). File location: "data\raw\HHS\NPL\SARMD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Nepal Living Standards Survey. Nepal 1995-1996 , 2003-2004, 2010-11, 2022-2023 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on December 5, 2022, August 27, 2021, and April 3, 2025.
    Name
    National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Years: 2011. Access date: December 13, 2021. File location: "data\raw\HHS\NPL\NPHC\2011".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution, and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/54
    Citation
    Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). National Population and Housing Census (NPHC). Nepal 2011 [dataset]. Available from the CBS Microdata Catalog: https://microdata.nsonepal.gov.np/index.php/catalog/54. Accessed on December 13, 2021.
    Name
    Household Integrated Economic Survey (PAK-HIES) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Years: 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2018-2019. Access date: September 10, 2025 (2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2018-2019) and July 20, 2021 (2011-2012). File location: "data\raw\HHS\PAK\HIES".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/microdata_2007_08_stata.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data-in-stata-1.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data-in-stata.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/hies/ , https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data_stata_2015-16.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data_in_stata.zip
    Citation
    Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Household Integrated Economic Survey (PAK-HIES), Pakistan 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2018-2019 [dataset]. Available from the PBS Microdata Catalog: https://www.pbs.gov.pk/. Accessed on September 10, 2025 and July 20, 2021.
    Name
    Household Integrated Economic Survey (PAK-HIES) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), accessed via South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2018-2019. Access date: April 25, 2022. File location: "data\raw\HHS\PAK\SARMD". File names: PAK_2007_HIES_v02_M_v02_A_SARMD.dta, PAK_2010_HIES_v01_M_v05_A_SARMD.dta, PAK_2011_HIES_v01_M_v05_A_SARMD.dta, PAK_2013_HIES_v01_M_v05_A_SARMD.dta, PAK_2015_HIES_v01_M_v03_A_SARMD.dta, PAK_2018_HIES_v01_M_v01_A_SARMD.dta.
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution, and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS ). Household Integrated Economic Survey (PAK-HIES), Pakistan 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2018-2019 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on April 25, 2022.
    Name
    Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Years: 1991. Access date: April 28, 2022. File location: "data\raw\HHS\PAK\PIHS\1991".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/543
    Citation
    Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS). Pakistan 1991 [dataset]. Available from the World Bank Microdata Library: https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/543. Accessed on April 28, 2022.
    Name
    Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Years: 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, 2019-2020. Access date: April 28, 2022 (2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2014-2015) and August 27, 2021 (2019-2020). File location: "data\raw\HHS\PAK\PSLM".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data-in-stata-10-11.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/data-in-spss-12-13.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Data-in-stata.zip; https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/stata_data_pslm_2019_20.zip
    Citation
    Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement, Pakistan 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2014-2015, 2019-2020 [dataset]. Available from the PBS Microdata Catalog: https://www.pbs.gov.pk/. Accessed on April 28, 2022 and August 27, 2021.
    Name
    Household Income and Expenditure Survey (LKA-HIES) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). Years: 1990-1991, 1995-1996, 2002, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2016, 2019. Access date: August 27, 2021. File location: "data\raw\HHS\LKA\HIES".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/31; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/33; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/38; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/35; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/36; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/37; https://catalog.ihsn.org/catalog/7380/; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/476
    Citation
    Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Sri Lanka 1990-1991, 1995-1996, 2002, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2016, 2019 [dataset]. Available from the DCS Microdata Catalog: https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/, https://catalog.ihsn.org/catalog/7380/. Accessed on August 27, 2021
    Name
    Household Income and Expenditure Survey (LKA-HIES) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), accessed via the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Years: 2002, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2016, 2019. Access date: August 27, 2021 (2002, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2012-2013), May 23, 2022 (2016) and March 6, 2025 (2019). File location: "data\raw\HHS\LKA\SARMD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution, and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), Household Income and Expenditure Survey (LKA- HIES), Sri Lanka 2002, 2006-2007, 2009-2010, 2012-2013, 2016, 2019 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the South Asia Regional Micro Database (SARMD). Available from: https://worldbank.github.io/SARMD_guidelines/datalibweb-getting-access-to-sarmd.html. Accessed on August 27, 2021, May 23, 2022 and March 6, 2025.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (LKA-LFS) - Raw
    Note
    Source: Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). Years: 1992-2021. Access date: December 13, 2025. File location: "data\raw\LFS\LKA\LFS".
    Access policy
    Data is publicly available but does not allow redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
    License
    Custom license
    Data URL
    https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/453; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/455; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/460; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/474; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/462; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/13; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/14; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/15; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/16; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/17; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/18; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/336; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/22; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/435; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/26; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/27; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/28; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/29; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/441; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/445; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/481; https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/catalog/486
    Citation
    Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). Labor Force Survey (LKA-LFS). Sri Lanka 1992-2021 [dataset]. Available from the DCS Microdata Catalog: https://nada.statistics.gov.lk/index.php/home. Accessed on December 13, 2025.
    Name
    Labor Force Survey (LKA-LFS) - Harmonized
    Note
    Source: Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), accessed via the Global Labor Database (GLD). Years: 1992-2021. Access date: January 25, 2026. File location: "data\raw\LFS\LKA\GLD".
    Access policy
    Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package. Available to World Bank Staff only.
    License
    Custom license
    Citation
    Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). Labor Force Survey (LKA-LFS), Sri Lanka 1992-2021 [dataset]. Harmonized version accessed through the Global Labor Database (GLD). Available from https://worldbank.github.io/gld/Support/A%20-%20Guides%20and%20Documentation/GLD%20Manual%20Files/GLD%20content%2C%20storage%2C%20and%20access.html#data-storage-platforms-and-access-rules. Accessed on January 25, 2026.
    Data statement

    Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, refer to the README file.

    Description

    Output
    Type
    Working Paper
    Title
    Inequality Of Opportunity In South Asia: The Puzzle Of Educational Gains Without Consumption Gains
    Description
    Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
    Authors
    Author Affiliation Email
    Maurizio Bussolo World Bank mbussolo@worldbank.org
    Vito Peragine Department of Economics and Finance, University of Bari vitorocco.peragine@uniba.it
    Fabian Reutzel Paris School of Economics fabian.reutzel@psemail.eu
    Date of production

    2026-03-26

    Scope and coverage

    Geographic locations
    Location Code
    Asia ASI
    Keywords
    Inequality Of Opportunity Educational Expansion Well-Being
    Topics
    ID Topic Parent topic ID Vocabulary Vocabulary URI
    D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement D6 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    O15 Human Resources • Human Development • Income Distribution • Migration O1 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    I25 Education and Economic Development I2 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)
    I24 Education and Inequality I2 Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)

    Disclaimer

    Disclaimer

    The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.

    Access and rights

    License
    Name URI
    Modified BSD3 https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email
    Maurizio Bussolo World Bank mbussolo@worldbank.org
    Reproducibility WBG World Bank reproducibility@worldbank.org

    Information on metadata

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation Role
    Reproducibility WBG DECDI World Bank - Development Impact Department Verification and preparation of metadata
    Date of Production

    2026-03-26
    Document version

    1
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