Skewness and Kurtosis Properties of Income Distribution Models

James McDonald, Patrick Turley and Jeff Sorensen ()

No 569, LIS Working papers from LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg

Abstract: This paper explores the ability of some popular income distributions to model observed skewness and kurtosis. We present the generalized beta type 1 (GB1) and type 2 (GB2) distributions’ skewness-kurtosis spaces and clarify and expand on previously known results on other distributions’ skewness-kurtosis spaces. Data from the Luxembourg Income Study are used to estimate sample moments and explore the ability of the generalized gamma, Dagum, Singh-Maddala, beta of the first kind, beta of the second kind, GB1, and GB2 distributions to accommodate the skewness and kurtosis values. The GB2 has the flexibility to accurately describe the observed skewness and kurtosis.

Keywords: skewness; kurtosis; generalized beta type 2 distribution; generalized gamma distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C16 C52 E25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2011-09
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in The Review of Income and Wealth 59, no. 2 (2013): 360–374

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Related works:
Journal Article: SKEWNESS AND KURTOSIS PROPERTIES OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION MODELS (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lis:liswps:569

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