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A Note on the Estimation of the Gini Index

Author

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  • George Djolov

    (The author is at the University of Stellenbosch and Socio-Economic Integration Unit, Statistics South Africa, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa, email: georged@statssa.gov.za)

Abstract

This article provides a statistical decision-making framework for the Gini index through the introduction of practically usable confidence intervals for this index. The resultant intervals enable hypothesis testing with the Gini index as well as providing a mechanism for studying the reliability of its estimates. The article presents these confidence intervals and demonstrates their prospective uses with an illustrative example to officially published estimates for the index from 24 countries. JEL Classification: C02, C13

Suggested Citation

  • George Djolov, 2014. "A Note on the Estimation of the Gini Index," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 8(3), pages 237-256, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:mareco:v:8:y:2014:i:3:p:237-256
    DOI: 10.1177/0973801014531134
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tomson Ogwang, 2000. "A Convenient Method of Computing the Gini Index and its Standard Error," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 62(1), pages 123-129, February.
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    3. Elias Karagiannis & Milorad Kovacevic', 2000. "A Method to Calculate the Jackknife Variance Estimator For the Gini Coefficient," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 62(1), pages 119-122, February.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    5. Karagiannis, Elias & Kovacevic', Milorad, 2000. "A Method to Calculate the Jackknife Variance Estimator for the Gini Coefficient," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 62(1), pages 119-122, February.
    6. Reh, Wolfgang & Scheffler, Bernard, 1996. "Significance tests and confidence intervals for coefficients of variation," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 449-452, August.
    7. Florence George & B. M. Golam Kibria, 2012. "Confidence intervals for estimating the population signal-to-noise ratio: a simulation study," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(6), pages 1225-1240, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gini Index; McKay’s Approximation;

    JEL classification:

    • C02 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Mathematical Economics
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General

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