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Top Incomes and the Measurement of Inequality in Egypt

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  • Vladimir Hlasny
  • Paolo Verme

Abstract

This study exploits unprecedented access to income data and a combination of newly developed statistical methods to evaluate income inequality in Egypt and test for potential top incomes biases. Income inequality in Egypt is found to be low by regional and world standards; top incomes are found to follow the Pareto distribution and do not show anomalies compared to surveys worldwide. Correcting for top incomes biases increases the Gini coefficient significantly. The magnitude of the upward correction varies between 1.1 and 4.1 percentage points depending on the choice of correction method and welfare measure.

Suggested Citation

  • Vladimir Hlasny & Paolo Verme, 2018. "Top Incomes and the Measurement of Inequality in Egypt," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 428-455.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:32:y:2018:i:2:p:428-455.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhw031
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Egypt; inequality measures; parametric estimation; Pareto distribution; survey nonresponse; top incomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East

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