IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/h/eme/reinzz/s1049-258520170000025002.html
   My bibliography  Save this book chapter

The Necessary Requirement of Median Independence for Relative Bipolarisation Measurement

In: Research on Economic Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Gaston Yalonetzky

Abstract

The relative bipolarisation literature features examples of indices which depend on the median of the distribution, including the renowned Foster–Wolfson index. This study shows that the use of the median in the design and computation of relative bipolarisation indices is both unnecessary and problematic. It is unnecessary because we can rely on existing well-behaved, median-independent indices. It is problematic because, as the study shows, median-dependent indices violate the basic transfer axioms of bipolarisation (defining spread and clustering properties), except when the median is unaffected by the transfers. The convenience of discarding the median from index computations is further illustrated with a numerical example in which median-independent indices rank distributions according to the basic transfer axioms while median-dependent indices do not.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaston Yalonetzky, 2017. "The Necessary Requirement of Median Independence for Relative Bipolarisation Measurement," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Research on Economic Inequality, volume 25, pages 51-62, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:reinzz:s1049-258520170000025002
    DOI: 10.1108/S1049-258520170000025002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S1049-258520170000025002/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S1049-258520170000025002/full/epub?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec&title=10.1108/S1049-258520170000025002
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S1049-258520170000025002/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/S1049-258520170000025002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:4:y:2007:i:36:p:1-6 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Walter Bossert & William Schworm, 2008. "A Class of Two‐Group Polarization Measures," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 10(6), pages 1169-1187, December.
    3. Marek Kosny & Gaston Yalonetzky, 2016. "Relative p-bipolarisation measurement with generalised means and hybrid Lorenz curves," Working Papers 404, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Lambert, Peter J & Aronson, J Richard, 1993. "Inequality Decomposition Analysis and the Gini Coefficient Revisited," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 103(420), pages 1221-1227, September.
    5. Jacques SILBER & Meital Hanoka & Joseph Deutsch, 2007. "On the Link Between the Concepts of Kurtosis and Bipolarization," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 4(36), pages 1-6.
    6. James Foster & Michael Wolfson, 2010. "Polarization and the decline of the middle class: Canada and the U.S," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(2), pages 247-273, June.
    7. You‐Qiang Wang & Kai‐Yuen Tsui, 2000. "Polarization Orderings and New Classes of Polarization Indices," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 2(3), pages 349-363, July.
    8. Ma Casilda Lasso de la Vega & Ana Urrutia & Henar Díez, 2010. "Unit Consistency And Bipolarization Of Income Distributions," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(1), pages 65-83, March.
    9. repec:bla:jpbect:v:2:y:2000:i:3:p:349-63 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Satya R. Chakravarty & Conchita D'Ambrosio, 2010. "Polarization Orderings Of Income Distributions," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(1), pages 47-64, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Arcagni & Elisa Barbiano di Belgiojoso & Marco Fattore & Stefania M. L. Rimoldi, 2019. "Multidimensional Analysis of Deprivation and Fragility Patterns of Migrants in Lombardy, Using Partially Ordered Sets and Self-Organizing Maps," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 551-579, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gaston Yalonetzky, 2017. "The Benchmark of Maximum Relative Bipolarisation," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Research on Economic Inequality, volume 25, pages 39-50, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Gaston Yalonetzky, 2014. "Relative bipolarization Lorenz curve," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 34(2), pages 1103-1113.
    3. Mariateresa Ciommi & Chiara Gigliarano & Giovanni Maria Giorgi, 2019. "Bonferroni And De Vergottini Are Back: New Subgroup Decompositions And Bipolarization Measures," Working Papers 439, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    4. Gaston Yalonetzky, 2013. "Relative bipolarization quasi-ordering based on Between-Group Gini (BGG) curves," Working Papers 318, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    5. Fabio Clementi & Francesco Schettino, 2013. "Income polarization in Brazil, 2001-2011: A distributional analysis using PNAD data," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(3), pages 1796-1815.
    6. Tomasz Panek & Jan Zwierzchowski, 2020. "Median Relative Partial Income Polarization Indices: Investigating Economic Polarization in Poland During the Years 2005–2015," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 1025-1044, June.
    7. Marek Kosny & Gaston Yalonetzky, 2016. "Relative p-bipolarisation measurement with generalised means and hybrid Lorenz curves," Working Papers 404, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    8. Chiara Assunta Ricci & Sergio Scicchitano, 2021. "Decomposing changes in income polarization by population group: what happened during the crisis?," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(1), pages 235-259, April.
    9. Satya Chakravarty & Bhargav Maharaj, 2012. "Ethnic polarization orderings and indices," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 7(1), pages 99-123, May.
    10. F. Clementi & A. L. Dabalen & V. Molini & F. Schettino, 2017. "When the Centre Cannot Hold: Patterns of Polarization in Nigeria," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(4), pages 608-632, December.
    11. Chiara Gigliarano & Daniel Nowak & Karl Mosler, 2019. "A Polarization Index for Overlapping Groups," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(4), pages 712-735, December.
    12. Mauro Mussini & Biancamaria Zavanella, 2015. "Measuring bipolarization in labour productivity in Italy: a new index and its decomposition by sectors and regional factors," RIVISTA DI ECONOMIA E STATISTICA DEL TERRITORIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3), pages 29-55.
    13. Chakravarty, Satya R. & Sarkar, Palash, 2022. "A synthesis of local and effective tax progressivity measurement," MPRA Paper 115180, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Maria Livia ŞTEFĂNESCU, 2015. "Analyzing the health status of the population using ordinal data," Computational Methods in Social Sciences (CMSS), "Nicolae Titulescu" University of Bucharest, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 18-24, June.
    15. Peter Lambert, 2010. "James Foster and Michael Wolfson’s 1992 paper “Polarization and the decline of the middle class”," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 8(2), pages 241-245, June.
    16. Oriol Carbonell-Nicolau & Humberto Llavador, 2021. "Inequality, Bipolarization, and Tax Progressivity," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 492-513, November.
    17. 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.
    18. Ma Casilda Lasso de la Vega & Ana Urrutia & Henar Díez, 2010. "Unit Consistency And Bipolarization Of Income Distributions," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(1), pages 65-83, March.
    19. Masato Okamoto, 2022. "Lorenz and Polarization Orderings of the Double-Pareto Lognormal Distribution and Other Size Distributions," Sankhya B: The Indian Journal of Statistics, Springer;Indian Statistical Institute, vol. 84(2), pages 548-574, November.
    20. Schettino, Francesco & Gabriele, Alberto & Khan, Haider A., 2021. "Polarization and the middle class in China: A non-parametric evaluation using CHNS and CHIP data," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 251-264.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Relative bipolarisation; median; D30; D31;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:reinzz:s1049-258520170000025002. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.