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A Unidimensional Representation of Multidimensional Inequality: An Econometric Analysis of Inequalities in the Arab Region

Author

Listed:
  • Mohamad Khaled

    (School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia)

  • Paul Makdissi

    (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Canada)

  • Prasada Rao

    (School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia)

  • Myra Yazbeck

    (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Canada)

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel approach for analyzing multidimensional inequality. We use a countingbased approach and a transformed survival function to capture the impact of inequality at the individual level. We then define indices of multidimensional inequality as aggregations of these individual impacts and introduce two new graphical tools. These graphical tools leverage the unidimensional representation to provide an intuitive representation of multidimensional inequality. Through this representation we derive dominance conditions that allow for the identification of robust rankings of multidimensional inequality. This paper also pushes boundaries in stochastic dominance estimation and inference showcasing new estimation and statistical methods related to our new graphical tools and dominance conditions. As a practical demonstration, we apply our method to analyze data from the Harmonized Household Income and Expenditure Surveys for three Arab countries and the Arab Barometer survey for ten Arab countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamad Khaled & Paul Makdissi & Prasada Rao & Myra Yazbeck, 2023. "A Unidimensional Representation of Multidimensional Inequality: An Econometric Analysis of Inequalities in the Arab Region," Working Papers 2304E Classification- D63, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ott:wpaper:2304e
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/45407
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    References listed on IDEAS

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