2.4 Equity-based rationale for
public policy intervention
Equity concerns have been gaining relevance in recent
decades in policy-related research and practice.
This process has been partly driven by the confirmation
of large social inequalities within and between countries,
which have persisted and in some cases increased
throughout the 20th century even in high-income countries
that have introduced universal programmes of health
care, education and social protection against poverty.
These social inequalities include inequalities in health,
education and political participation, as well as inequalities
in income and wealth. But what is meant by equity? And
why is it important from a policy-making perspective?