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Journal ArticleDOI

On the Measurement of Inequality

01 Sep 1970-Journal of Economic Theory (Academic Press)-Vol. 2, Iss: 3, pp 244-263
TL;DR: In this paper, the problem of comparing two frequency distributions f(u) of an attribute y which for convenience I shall refer to as income is defined as a risk in the theory of decision-making under uncertainty.
About: This article is published in Journal of Economic Theory.The article was published on 1970-09-01. It has received 5002 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Income inequality metrics & Income distribution.
Citations
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TL;DR: The authors tried to answer the question: When is a random variable Y "more variable" than another random variable X "less variable" by asking when a variable X is more variable than another variable Y.

3,655 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, residential segregation is viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon varying along five distinct axes of measurement: evenness exposure concentration centralization and clustering, and 20 indices of segregation are surveyed and related conceptually to 1 of the five dimensions.
Abstract: This paper conceives of residential segregation as a multidimensional phenomenon varying along 5 distinct axes of measurement: evenness exposure concentration centralization and clustering. 20 indices of segregation are surveyed and related conceptually to 1 of the 5 dimensions. Using data from a large set of US metropolitan areas the indices are intercorrelated and factor analyzed. Orthogonal and oblique rotations produce pattern matrices consistent with the postulated dimensional structure. Based on the factor analyses and other information 1 index was chosen to represent each of the 5 dimensions and these selections were confirmed with a principal components analysis. The paper recommends adopting these indices as standard indicators in future studies of segregation. (authors)

2,833 citations


Cites background from "On the Measurement of Inequality"

  • ...The Atkinson (1970) index resembles the Gini coefficient in that it satisfies the transfers principle and is compositionally invariant....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a new theory of choice under risk is proposed, a theory which, in a sense that will become clear, is dual to expected utility theory, hence the title "dual theory."
Abstract: IN THIS ESSAY, a new theory of choice under risk is being proposed. It is a theory which, in a sense that will become clear, is dual to expected utility theory, hence the title "dual theory." Risky prospects are evaluated in this theory by a cardinal numerical scale which resembles an expected utility, except that the roles of payments and probabilities are reversed. This theme-the reversal of the roles of probabilities and payments-will recur throughout the paper. I should emphasize that playing games, with probabilities masquerading as payments and payments masquerading as probabilities, is not my object. Rather, I hope to convince the reader that the dual theory has intrinsic economic significance and that, in some areas, its predictions are superior to those of expected utility theory (while in other areas the reverse will be the case). Two reasons have prompted me to look for an alternative to expected utility theory. The first reason is methodological: In expected utility theory, the agent's attitude towards risk and the agent's attitude towards wealth are forever bonded together. At the level of fundamental principles, risk aversion and diminishing marginal utility of wealth, which are synonymous under expected utility theory, are horses of different colors. The former expresses an attitute towards risk (increased uncertainty hurts) while the latter expresses an attitude towards wealth (the loss of a sheep hurts more when the agent is poor than when the agent is rich). A question arises, therefore, as to whether these two notions can be kept separate from each other in a full-fledged theory of cardinal utility. The dual theory will have this property. The second reason that leads me to look for an alternative to expected utility theory is empirical: Behavior patterns which are systematic, yet inconsistent with expected utility theory, have often been observed. (Two prominent references, among many others, are Allais (1953) and Kahneman-Tversky (1979).) So deeply

2,382 citations

Book
15 Dec 2008
TL;DR: The core methods in today's econometric toolkit are linear regression for statistical control, instrumental variables methods for the analysis of natural experiments, and differences-in-differences methods that exploit policy changes as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The core methods in today's econometric toolkit are linear regression for statistical control, instrumental variables methods for the analysis of natural experiments, and differences-in-differences methods that exploit policy changes. In the modern experimentalist paradigm, these techniques address clear causal questions such as: Do smaller classes increase learning? Should wife batterers be arrested? How much does education raise wages? Mostly Harmless Econometrics shows how the basic tools of applied econometrics allow the data to speak.In addition to econometric essentials, Mostly Harmless Econometrics covers important new extensions--regression-discontinuity designs and quantile regression--as well as how to get standard errors right. Joshua Angrist and Jorn-Steffen Pischke explain why fancier econometric techniques are typically unnecessary and even dangerous. The applied econometric methods emphasized in this book are easy to use and relevant for many areas of contemporary social science. An irreverent review of econometric essentials A focus on tools that applied researchers use most Chapters on regression-discontinuity designs, quantile regression, and standard errors Many empirical examples A clear and concise resource with wide applications

2,379 citations

References
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Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an efficiency analysis of choices involving risk in portfolio selection, and present a necessary and sufficient condition of efficiency for the optimal efficiency criterion in the presence of general risk aversion, and the conditions under which the mean-variance criterion is a valid efficiency criterion.
Abstract: Presents an efficiency analysis of choices involving risk in portfolio selection. Description of a necessary and sufficient condition of efficiency; Computations for the optimal efficiency criterion in the presence of general risk aversion; Analysis of the conditions under which the mean-variance criterion is a valid efficiency criterion. (Из Ebsco)

1,086 citations


"On the Measurement of Inequality" refers background in this paper

  • ...3 See Rothschild and Stiglitz [13], Hadar and Russell [5], and Hanoch and Levy [ 6 ]....

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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1969

702 citations

Journal ArticleDOI

607 citations


"On the Measurement of Inequality" refers methods in this paper

  • ...To illustrate the points made in the previous section about the conventional summary measures and the use of the equally distributed equivalent measure, I have taken the data collected by Kuznets [ 8 ] covering the distribution of income in seven advanced and five developing countries....

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Journal ArticleDOI

116 citations

Book
01 Jan 1929

67 citations