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Assessing Inequality in the Presence of Growth: an Expository Essay

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  • S. Subramanian

Abstract

In a great deal of empirical work on distributional analysis, the only sorts of inequality measures employed are ‘relative’ ones. The present paper argues the case for a more plural approach to inequality measurement, in which both ‘absolute’ and ‘intermediate’ conceptualizations of inequality are admitted. In particular, it is suggested that there is a strong case for the employment of intermediate measures of inequality in assessing over time changes in inequality and, through that route, the inclusiveness or otherwise of the process of growth in per capita income. The purpose of the paper is two fold: exposition and persuasion. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

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  • S. Subramanian, 2015. "Assessing Inequality in the Presence of Growth: an Expository Essay," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 179-199, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:blkpoe:v:42:y:2015:i:3:p:179-199
    DOI: 10.1007/s12114-014-9189-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Moyes, Patrick, 1987. "A new concept of Lorenz domination," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 203-207.
    2. Amiel,Yoram & Cowell,Frank, 1999. "Thinking about Inequality," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521466967.
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    5. Kristof Bosmans & Koen Decancq & André Decoster, 2014. "The Relativity of Decreasing Inequality Between Countries," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 81(322), pages 276-292, April.
    6. Coral Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2010. "New unit-consistent intermediate inequality indices," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 42(3), pages 505-521, March.
    7. Claudio Zoli, 2012. "Characterizing Inequality Equivalence Criteria," Working Papers 32/2012, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    8. del Rio, Coral & Ruiz-Castillo, Javier, 2001. "Intermediate Inequality and Welfare: The Case of Spain, 1980-81 to 1990-91," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 47(2), pages 221-237, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Unequal Inequalities Revisited
      by jpellg in Development Economics on 2017-02-03 18:30:01

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    Cited by:

    1. Joshua Greenstein, 2020. "The Precariat Class Structure and Income Inequality among US Workers: 1980–2018," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 447-469, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inclusive growth; Relative Lorenz curve; Absolute Lorenz curve; Intermediate Gini coefficient; Krtscha Index; D30; D31; O15; O40;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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