Drivers of inequality (MIF)
Once the main inequalities in your country have been identified through applying the Framework, the next step is to explore what the main causes, or drivers, of these inequalities are before identifying the best policy response.
In an ideal world the identification of drivers would be informed by robust statistical analysis but we recognise that to do this across the range of inequality measures in the Framework would be an enormous task and out of the scope for most users. For some inequalities there is existing empirical evidence on what drives them and this can provide a useful source of information. Of course drivers may vary in different context so some care must be taken in using evidence established in one country to inform the identification of inequality drivers in another country. For example, education inequalities may be one of the main drivers of health inequalities but this is likely to vary across countries and will depend, in part, on whether there is a universal health care system and the extent to which individuals have to use their knowledge to navigate their own way around the system and manage their own care and treatment. This example highlights how the effectiveness of policy interventions can be an important determinant of the extent to which factors drive inequality and how inequalities can be addressed.
The analysis of drivers should be conducted within the domains of the Multidimensional Inequality Framework while recognising that inequalities in one domain may be key drivers of inequalities in another domain. For example, inequalities in educational attainment are known to be one of the drivers of health inequalities. It is also worth paying special attention to the role of economic inequalities identified in Domain 4, in particular inequalities in earnings, income and wealth, in driving inequalities across the rest of the Framework.
To assist with the process of identifying drivers, a number of main driver categories have been identified within each of the life domains of the Framework. These categories are provided with a brief description and a selection of guiding questions to assist your analysis. A number of potential indicators which could be used to monitor drivers are also provided. You should feel free to adapt the main driver categories, guiding questions and driver indicators to fit your context and reflect the facts about inequalities you have established.
