Income and social polarization: theoretical approaches

Iñaki Permanyer

Chapter 19 in Handbook of Research on Economic and Social Well-Being, 2018, pp 434-459 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The concept of polarization is related to the clustering of individuals forming groups in different parts of a given distribution. The existing relationship between polarization, socioeconomic stability and economic growth has contributed to motivating the interest in the study of polarization. In the empirical literature, polarization measures have often been used to explain episodes of social tension or conflict. This chapter aims at providing a wide overview of the different approaches that have been proposed so far in the conceptualization and measurement of polarization. Most contributions to the measurement of polarization can be classified into two categories: income polarization and social polarization measures. The former measure the extent to which individuals are clustered around local and opposing poles in the income distribution. The latter try to capture the notion of polarization related to non-income characteristics, such as ethnicity, race or religion. Both types of polarization measures are explored.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Social Policy and Sociology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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