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A Class of Two-Group Polarization Measures

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Author Info
WALTER BOSSERT
WILLIAM SCHWORM

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Abstract

The phenomenon of income polarization is generally associated with a disappearing middle class but there does not seem to be a generally accepted definition of this notion. We characterize classes of polarization quasi-orderings and polarization measures in a framework where there are two income groups separated by the median. The axioms we employ are variants of within-group clustering and between-group spread properties, and an independence property. Furthermore, we illustrate that attempts to extend the axioms to more general settings severely restrict their appeal and conclude that alternative approaches may be required to capture concepts involving polarization. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc..

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File URL: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9779.2008.00401.x
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Association for Public Economic Theory in its journal Journal of Public Economic Theory.

Volume (Year): 10 (2008)
Issue (Month): 6 (December)
Pages: 1169-1187
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Handle: RePEc:bla:jpbect:v:10:y:2008:i:6:p:1169-1187

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  1. Chakravarty, Satya R & Majumder, Amita, 2001. "Inequality, Polarisation and Welfare: Theory and Applications," Australian Economic Papers, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1), pages 1-13, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Jean-Yves Duclos & Joan Esteban & Debraj Ray, 2004. "Polarization: Concepts, Measurement, Estimation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(6), pages 1737-1772, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Schultz, Christian, 1996. "Polarization and Inefficient Policies," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 63(2), pages 331-44, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. D'Ambrosio, Conchita, 2001. "Household Characteristics and the Distribution of Income in Italy: An Application of Social Distance Measures," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(1), pages 43-64, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Esteban, Joan & Ray, Debraj, 1994. "On the Measurement of Polarization," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(4), pages 819-51, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Joan Esteban & Carlos Gradín & Debraj Ray, 2007. "An Extension of a Measure of Polarization, with an application to the income distribution of five OECD countries," Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Xiaobo Zhang & Ravi Kanbur, 2001. "What difference do polarisation measures make? an application to China," The Journal of Development Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 85-98, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Wang, You-Qiang & Tsui, Kai-Yuen, 2000. " Polarization Orderings and New Classes of Polarization Indices," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 2(3), pages 349-63. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Ravallion, Martin & Chen, Shaohua, 1997. "What Can New Survey Data Tell Us about Recent Changes in Distribution and Poverty?," World Bank Economic Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 357-82, May.
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  10. Wolfson, Michael C, 1994. "When Inequalities Diverge," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 353-58, May.
  11. Wolfson, Michael C, 1997. "Divergent Inequalities: Theory and Empirical Results," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(4), pages 401-21, December.
  12. Shorrocks, Anthony F, 1983. "Ranking Income Distributions," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 50(197), pages 3-17, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Esteban, Joan & Ray, Debraj, 1999. "Conflict and Distribution," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 379-415, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Seshanna, Shubhasree & Decornez, Stephane, 2003. "Income polarization and inequality across countries: an empirical study," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 335-358, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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