Inequality measurement with coarse data

Xiangyu Qu

Social Choice and Welfare, 2024, vol. 62, issue 2, No 7, 367-396

Abstract: Abstract Measuring inequality is a challenging task, particularly when data is collected in a coarse manner. This paper proposes a new approach to measuring inequality indices that considers all possible income values and avoids arbitrary statistical assumptions. Specifically, the paper suggests that two sets of income distributions should be considered when measuring inequality, one including the highest income per individual and the other including the lowest possible income per individual. These distributions are subjected to inequality index measures, and a weighted average of these two indices is taken to obtain the final inequality index. This approach provides more accurate measures of inequality while avoiding arbitrary statistical assumptions. The paper focuses on two special cases of social welfare functions, the Atkinson index and the Gini index, which are widely used in the literature on inequality.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s00355-023-01492-0

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