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Measuring Social Polarization with Ordinal and Categorical Data

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  • IÑAKI PERMANYER
  • CONCHITA D'AMBROSIO

Abstract

We examine the measurement of social polarization with categorical and ordinal data. We partition the society into groups on the basis of salient social characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, and we take into account the extent to which these groups are clustered in certain regions of an attribute's distribution. This is particularly useful in many contexts where cardinal data are not available. The new measures we propose are characterized axiomatically.

Suggested Citation

  • Iñaki Permanyer & Conchita D'Ambrosio, 2015. "Measuring Social Polarization with Ordinal and Categorical Data," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(3), pages 311-327, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jpbect:v:17:y:2015:i:3:p:311-327
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/jpet.12093
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    2. Huremović, Kenan & Ozkes, Ali I., 2022. "Polarization in networks: Identification–alienation framework," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Mauro Mussini, 2018. "On Measuring Polarization For Ordinal Data: An Approach Based On The Decomposition Of The Leti Index," Statistics in Transition New Series, Polish Statistical Association, vol. 19(2), pages 277-296, June.
    4. Yalonetzky, Gaston, 2022. "Consistent and inconsistent inequality indices for ordinal variables," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    5. Suman Seth & Gaston Yalonetzky, 2021. "Assessing Deprivation with an Ordinal Variable: Theory and Application to Sanitation Deprivation in Bangladesh," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(3), pages 793-811.
    6. Bossert, Walter & D’Ambrosio, Conchita & Weber, Shlomo, 2022. "Distance-based social index numbers: A unifying approach," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    7. Suman Seth and Gaston Yalonetzky, 2018. "Assessing Deprivation with Ordinal Variables: Depth Sensitivity and Poverty Aversion," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp123.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    8. Vito Peragine & Maria G. Pittau & Ernesto Savaglio & Stefano Vannucci, 2021. "On multidimensional poverty rankings of binary attributes," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 23(2), pages 248-274, April.
    9. Mussini Mauro, 2018. "On Measuring Polarization For Ordinal Data: An Approach Based On The Decomposition Of The Leti Index," Statistics in Transition New Series, Polish Statistical Association, vol. 19(2), pages 277-296, June.
    10. Inmaculada Gutiérrez & Juan Antonio Guevara & Daniel Gómez & Javier Castro & Rosa Espínola, 2021. "Community Detection Problem Based on Polarization Measures: An Application to Twitter: The COVID-19 Case in Spain," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-27, February.
    11. Paul Allanson, 2022. "Ordinal health disparities between population subgroups: measurement and multivariate analysis with an application to the North-South divide in England," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(4), pages 841-860, December.
    12. Silber, Jacques & Yalonetzky, Gaston, 2021. "Measuring welfare, inequality and poverty with ordinal variables," GLO Discussion Paper Series 962, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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