On the Measurement of Income Bipolarization

Satya Chakravarty

Chapter Chapter 2 in Inequality, Polarization and Conflict, 2015, pp 33-51 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract There are two approaches to the measurement of income polarization: bipolarization and multipolar polarization. According to the first approach, which we examine in this chapter, polarization is shrinkage of the middle class. Bipolarization involves an equity-like component (an equalization of incomes on the either side of the median income increases bipolarization) and an inequity-like component (a movement of incomes on any side of the median income from the median income itself increases bipolarization). In different sections of the chapter, we make discussion on the size of the middle class and analyze bipolarization indices, their axioms and related orderings satisfying alternative notions of polarization invariance, and welfare theoretic interpretation of bipolarization indices.

Keywords: Middle class; Axioms; Increased spread; Increased bipolarity; Indices; Orderings; The Foster–Wolfson ordering; Social welfare function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:esichp:978-81-322-2166-1_2

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DOI: 10.1007/978-81-322-2166-1_2

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