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Correcting the Concentration Index

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  • Erreygers, Guido

Abstract

In recent years attention has been drawn to several shortcomings of the Concentration Index, a frequently used indicator of the socioeconomic inequality of health. Some modifications have been suggested, but these are only partial remedies. This paper proposes a corrected version of the Concentration Index which is superior to the original Concentration Index and its variants, in the sense that it is a rank-dependent indicator which satisfies four key requirements (transfer, level independence, cardinal invariance, and mirror). The paper also shows how the corrected Concentration Index can be decomposed and generalized.

Suggested Citation

  • Erreygers, Guido, 2009. "Correcting the Concentration Index," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 504-515, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:28:y:2009:i:2:p:504-515
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health inequality Socioeconomic inequality Concentration Index;

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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