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NEW ECONOMIC WINDOWS ON INCOME AND WEALTH: THE k-GENERALIZED FAMILY OF DISTRIBUTIONS

Author

Listed:
  • Fabio CLEMENTI

    (University of Macerata, Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations, Italy)

  • Mauro GALLEGATI

    (Polytechnic University of Marche, Department of Management, Italy)

Abstract

Over the last decades, the distribution of income and wealth has been deteriorating in many countries, leading to increased inequalities within and between societies. This tendency has revived the interest in the subject greatly, yet it still receives very little attention within the realm of mainstream economic thinking. One reason for this is that the basic paradigm of “standard economics”, the representative-agent General Equilibrium framework, is badly equipped to cope with distributional issues. Here we argue that when the economy is treated as a complex system composed of many heterogeneous interacting agents who give rise to emergent phenomena, to address the main stylized facts of income/wealth distribution requires leaving the toolbox of mainstream economics in favour of alternative approaches. The “?-generalized” family of income/wealth distributions, building on the categories of complexity, is an example of how advances in the field can be achieved within new interdisciplinary research contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabio CLEMENTI & Mauro GALLEGATI, 2017. "NEW ECONOMIC WINDOWS ON INCOME AND WEALTH: THE k-GENERALIZED FAMILY OF DISTRIBUTIONS," Journal of Social and Economic Statistics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 6(1), pages 1-15, JULY.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:jsesro:v:6:y:2017:i:1:p:1-15
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic methodology; income and wealth distributions; probabilistic laws; parametric modelling; ?-generalized distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • B59 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Other
    • C46 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Specific Distributions
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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