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Inequalities and Their Measurement

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Listed author(s):
  • Heshmati, Almas

    ()

    (Jönköping University, Sogang University)

Abstract

This paper is a review of the recent advances in the measurement of inequality. Inequality can have several dimensions. Economists are mostly concerned with the income and consumption dimensions of inequality. Several inequality indices including the most widely used index of inequality namely the Gini coefficient is discussed. Non-income inequality includes inequality in skills, education, opportunities, happiness, health, wealth, and others. The direct and indirect effects of inequality in non-income factors on earnings and health are discussed. Results from review of the literature suggest relationship between inequality in income and non-income dimensions. This indicates that one should account for the interrelationship between the different dimensions in the measurement and analyses of inequalities.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1219.

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Length: 20 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2004
Publication status: published in: A. Heshmati (Ed), Global Trends in Income Inequality, Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2007, 11-25
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1219
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Keywords: inequality indices; income distribution; income inequality;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
  • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
  • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative

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Cited by:

  1. Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "A Review of Decomposition of Income Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 1221, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  2. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Vassilis Tselios, 2009. "Education And Income Inequality In The Regions Of The European Union," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 411-437.
  3. Kim, Yunhee & Lee, Jeong-Dong & Heshmati, Almas, 2008. "Analysis of Pay Inequality and its Impacts on Growth and Performance in the Korean Manufacturing Industry," IZA Discussion Papers 3774, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  4. Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "The World Distribution of Income and Income Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 1267, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  5. Salvatore Morelli & Timothy Smeeding & Jeffrey Thompson, 2014. "Post-1970 Trends in Within-Country Inequality and Poverty: Rich and Middle Income Countries," CSEF Working Papers 356, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
  6. Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "Data Issues and Databases Used in Analysis of Growth, Poverty and Economic Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 1263, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  7. D'Angelo, Emanuela & Lilla, Marco, 2007. "Is there more than one linkage between Social Network and Inequality?," IRISS Working Paper Series 2007-12, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD.

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