Economics Of Discrimination

The analysis of inequality is placed in the context of recent developments in economics and statistics.

Measurement of inequality

Rational Behavior and Bargaining Equilibrium in Games and Social Situations

Concentration indices are frequently used to measure inequality in one variable over the distribution of another. Most commonly, they are applied to the measurement of socioeconomic-related inequality in health. We introduce a user-written Stata command conindex which provides point estimates and standard errors of a range of concentration indices. The command also graphs concentration curves (and Lorenz curves) and performs statistical inference for the comparison of inequality between groups. The article offers an accessible introduction to the various concentration indices that have been proposed to suit different measurement scales and ethical responses to inequality. The command's capabilities and syntax are demonstrated through analysis of wealth-related inequality in health and healthcare in Cambodia.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1536867X1601600112

conindex: Estimation of concentration indices.

This paper examines different approaches to the measurement of multidimensional inequality and poverty. First, it outlines three aspects preliminary to any multidimensional study: the selection of the relevant dimensions; the indicators used to measure them; and the procedures for their weighting. It then considers the counting approach and the axiomatic treatment in poverty measurement. Finally, it reviews the axiomatic approach to inequality analysis. The paper provides a selective review of a rapidly growing theoretical literature with the twofold aim of highlighting areas for future research and offering some guidance on how to use multidimensional methods in empirical and policy-oriented applications.

/pdf/multidimensional-poverty-and-inequality-51lp2fsjvm.pdf

Multidimensional Poverty and Inequality

Consider the following nine rules for adjudicating conflicting claims: the proportional, constrained equal awards, constrained equal losses, Talmud, Piniles', constrained egalitarian, adjusted proportional, random arrival, and minimal overlap rules. For each pair of rules in this list, we examine whether or not the two rules are Lorenz comparable. We allow the comparison to depend upon whether the amount to divide is larger or smaller than the half-sum of claims. In addition, we provide Lorenz-based characterizations of the constrained equal awards, constrained equal losses, Talmud, Piniles', constrained egalitarian, and minimal overlap rules.

/pdf/lorenz-comparisons-of-nine-rules-for-the-adjudication-of-1zux0w6sx8.pdf

Lorenz Comparisons of Nine Rules for the Adjudication of Conflicting Claims

What do normative indices of multidimensional inequality really measure

We study the evolution of population-weighted between country inequality in the period 1980-2009. Whereas previous studies almost exclusively focused on relative inequality measures, we consider relative, absolute and intermediate versions of the Lorenz dominance criterion and of the S-Gini and generalized entropy classes of inequality measures. The analysis yields robust evidence for increasing absolute inequality. Moreover, this conclusion is preserved for intermediate views substantially in the direction of the relative view. In contrast, robust evidence for decreasing inequality - be it relative, absolute or intermediate - is virtually absent. These findings challenge the widely accepted claim of decreasing between-country inequality.

/pdf/the-relativity-of-decreasing-inequality-between-countries-7coso1ztjl.pdf

The Relativity of Decreasing Inequality Between Countries

Consider the following nine rules for adjudicating conflicting claims: the proportional, constrained equal awards, constrained equal losses, Talmud, Piniles’, constrained egalitarian, adjusted proportional, random arrival, and minimal overlap rules. For each pair of rules in this list, we examine whether or not the two rules are Lorenz comparable. We allow the comparison to depend upon whether the amount to divide is larger or smaller than the half-sum of claims. In addition, we provide Lorenz-based characterizations of the constrained equal awards, constrained equal losses, Talmud, Piniles’, constrained egalitarian, and minimal overlap rules.

/pdf/lorenz-comparisons-of-nine-rules-for-the-adjudication-of-4hxqnvo7e4.pdf

Lorenz comparisons of nine rules for the adjudication of conflicting claims

Many distributional conflicts are characterized by the presence of acquired rights. The basic structure of these conflicts is that of the so-called claims problem, in which an amount of money has to be divided among individuals with differing claims and the total amount available falls short of the sum of the claims. We describe the results of a questionnaire in which Belgian and German students were confronted with nine claims problems. In the “Firm” version, respondents had to divide revenue among the owners of a firm who contribute to the activities of the firm in different degrees. In the “Pensions” version, they had to divide tax money among pensioners who have paid different contributions during their active career. Responses in the Pensions version are more egalitarian than in the Firm version. For both versions, the proportional rule performs very well in describing the choices of the respondents. Other prominent rules—in particular the constrained equal awards and constrained equal losses rules—fail to capture some basic intuitions. A substantial part of the respondents tend to become more progressive as the amount to be distributed decreases other things equal, and tend to become more progressive as the inequality in the distribution of claims becomes more unequal other things equal. All of these conclusions are robust with respect to the difference in home-country of the respondents.

/pdf/equality-preference-in-the-claims-problem-a-questionnaire-2tqb20a9yk.pdf

Kristof Bosmans

Papers

Lorenz Comparisons of Nine Rules for the Adjudication of Conflicting Claims

What do normative indices of multidimensional inequality really measure

The Relativity of Decreasing Inequality Between Countries

Lorenz comparisons of nine rules for the adjudication of conflicting claims

Equality preference in the claims problem: a questionnaire study of cuts in earnings and pensions