Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Why measure inequality?

  • Published:
The Journal of Economic Inequality Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A large body of literature is devoted to the measurement of income inequality, yet little attention is given to the question, Why measure inequality? However, the reasons for measurement bear importantly on whether and how measurement should be done. Upon examination, normative measures are found to be of questionable value. Descriptive measures, by contrast, may be useful, but the appropriate measure depends on the field of application rather than on general, a priori principles of the sort that are emphasized in the existing measurement literature. Measures of poverty are also considered, and similar conclusions are reached.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Alesina, A. and Rodrik, D.: Distributive politics and economic growth, Quarterly Journal of Economics 109 (1994), 465–490.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Atkinson, A.B.: On the measurement of inequality, Journal of Economic Theory 2 (1970), 244–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Atkinson, A.B.: On the measurement of poverty, Econometrica 55 (1987), 749–764.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Atkinson, A.B. and Bourguignon, F. (eds.): Handbook of Income Distribution, Vol. 1, Elsevier Science, B.V., Amsterdam, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Barro, R.: Inequality and growth in a panel of countries, Journal of Economic Growth 5 (2000), 5–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bénabou, R.: Inequality and growth, In: B.S. Bernanke and J.J. Rotemberg (eds.), NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1996, pp. 11–74.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Blackorby, C. and Donaldson, D.: Ethical social index numbers and the measurement of effective tax/benefit progressivity, Canadian Journal of Economics 17 (1984), 683–694.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Clark, S., Hemming, R. and Ulph, D.: On indices for the measurement of poverty, Economic Journal 91 (1981), 515–526.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cowell, F.A.: Measuring Inequality, 2nd edn, Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cowell, F.A.: Measurement of inequality, In: A.B. Atkinson and F. Bourguignon (eds.), Handbook of Income Distribution, Vol. 1, Elsevier Science, B.V., Amsterdam, 2000, pp. 87–166.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Dalton, H.: The measurement of the inequality of incomes, Economic Journal 30 (1920),348–361.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Dasgupta, P.S., Sen, A.K. and Starrett, D.A.: Notes on the measurement of inequality, Journal of Economic Theory 6 (1973), 180–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Davies, J.B. and Hoy, M.: Making inequality comparisons when Lorenz curves intersect, American Economic Review 85 (1995), 980–986.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Davies, J.B. and Hoy, M.: Flat rate taxes and inequality measurement, Journal of Public Economics 84 (2002), 33–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Deininger, K. and Squire, L.: A new data set measuring income inequality, World Bank Economic Review 10 (1996), 565–591.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Fajnzylber, P., Lederman, D. and Loayza, N.: Inequality and violent crime, Journal of Law and Economics 45 (2002), 1–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Fellman, J.: The effect of transformations of Lorenz curves, Econometrica 44 (1976), 823–824.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Forbes, K.J.: A reassessment of the relationship between inequality and growth, American Economic Review 90 (2000), 869–887.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Jakobsson, U.: On the measurement of the degree of progression, Journal of Public Economics 5 (1976), 161–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Jorgenson, D.W. and Slesnick, D.T.: Inequality and the distribution of individual welfare, In: R.L. Basmann and G. Rhodes (eds.), Advances in Econometrics, Vol. 3, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, 1984, pp. 67–130.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kakwani, N.: Applications of Lorenz curves in economic analysis, Econometrica 45 (1977), 719–727.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Kakwani, N.: Inequality, welfare and poverty: Three interrelated phenomena, In: J. Silber (ed.), Handbook of Income Inequality Measurement, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 1999, pp. 599–628.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Kaplow, L.: Concavity of utility, concavity of welfare, and redistribution of income, NBER Working Paper 10005, 2003.

  24. Kolm, S.-C.: The optimal production of social justice, In: J. Margolis and H. Guitton (eds.), Public Economics: An Analysis of Public Production and Consumption and their Relations to the Private Sectors, Macmillan, London, 1969, pp. 145–200.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Lambert, P.J.: The Distribution and Redistribution of Income, 3rd edn, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Lewis, G.W. and Ulph, D.T.: Poverty, inequality and welfare, Economic Journal 98(supp.) (1988), 117–131.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Musgrave, R.A. and Thin, T.: Income tax progression, 1929–40, Journal of Political Economy 56 (1948), 498–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Neal, D. and Rosen, S.: Theories of the distribution of earnings, In: A.B. Atkinson andF. Bourguignon (eds.), Handbook of Income Distribution, Vol. 1, Elsevier Science, B.V., Amsterdam, 2000, pp. 379–427.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Newbery, D.: A theorem on the measurement of inequality, Journal of Economic Theory 2 (1970), 264–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Ravallion, M.: Poverty Comparisons, Harwood Academic Publishers, Chur, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Ravallion, M.: Measuring social welfare with and without poverty lines, American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings 84 (1994), 359–364.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Rothschild, M. and Stiglitz, J.E.: Some further results on the measurement of inequality, Journal of Economic Theory 6 (1973), 188–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Ruggles, P.: Drawing the Line: Alternative Poverty Measures and Their Implications for Public Policy, Urban Institute Press, Washington, DC, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Seidl, C.: Poverty measurement: A survey, In: D. Bös, M. Rose and C. Seidl (eds.), Welfare and Efficiency in Public Economics, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 1988, pp. 71–147.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Sen, A.K.: On Economic Inequality, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Sen, A.K.: Poverty: An ordinal approach to measurement, Econometrica 44 (1976), 219–231.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Sen, A.K.: Poor, relatively speaking, Oxford Economic Papers 35 (1983), 153–169.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Sheshinski, E.: Relation between a social welfare function and the Gini index of inequality, Journal of Economic Theory 4 (1972), 98–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Shorrocks, A.F.: Ranking income distributions, Economica 50 (1983), 3–17.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Silber, J. (ed.): Handbook of Income Inequality Measurement, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Suits, D.B.: Measurement of tax progressivity, American Economic Review 67 (1977), 747–752.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Watts, H.: An economic definition of poverty, In: D.P. Moynihan (ed.), On Understanding Poverty, Basic Books, New York, 1968, pp. 316–329.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Welch, F. (ed.): The Causes and Consequences of Increasing Inequality, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Yitzhaki, S.: Relative deprivation and the Gini coefficient, Quarterly Journal of Economics 93 (1979), 321–324.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Yitzhaki, S.: Do we need a separate poverty measurement?, European Journal of Political Economy 18 (2002), 61–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard University and National Bureau of Economic Research, U.S.A.

    Louis Kaplow

Authors
  1. Louis Kaplow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kaplow, L. Why measure inequality?. J Econ Inequal 3, 65–79 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-004-7947-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-004-7947-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation