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Income, Equality, and Economic Development

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  • Alvaro Montenegro

Abstract

Objective This article proposes a simple and operational definition of development that combines the level of income per capita with a measure of income distribution. Method Following the definition, an economic development index is constructed by averaging income per capita with Gini coefficients from the well‐known SWIID database. Results A ranking of countries is obtained for the proposed index, and it is compared to the rankings produced using the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) and the GDP per capita. Conclusion The results for the proposed index show interesting differences with the rankings produced by the HDI and the economists’ favorite GDP per capita.

Suggested Citation

  • Alvaro Montenegro, 2021. "Income, Equality, and Economic Development," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(1), pages 508-522, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:102:y:2021:i:1:p:508-522
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12908
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sen, Amartya, 1988. "The concept of development," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 9-26, Elsevier.
    2. Frederick Solt, 2020. "Measuring Income Inequality Across Countries and Over Time: The Standardized World Income Inequality Database," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(3), pages 1183-1199, May.
    3. Tinbergen, Jan, 1991. "On the measurement of welfare," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1-2), pages 7-13, October.
    4. James M. Buchanan, 1954. "Social Choice, Democracy, and Free Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(2), pages 114-114.
    5. Jorgenson, Dale W, 1990. "Aggregate Consumer Behavior and the Measurement of Social Welfare," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(5), pages 1007-1040, September.
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