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Some Reflections on the Social Welfare Bases of the Measurement of Global Income Inequality

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  • Brandolini Andrea

    (Bank of Italy, DG Economics, Statistics and Research, Roma, RM 00184, Italy)

  • Carta Francesca

    (Bank of Italy, DG Economics, Statistics and Research, Roma, RM, Italy)

Abstract

This paper examines the social welfare bases of the measurement of income inequality among the inhabitants of the world. We develop a general family of global inequality indices which encompasses different concepts of global equity, from the cosmopolitan to the nationalist view. The analysis also provides an interpretation of the EU-wide inequality measures adopted in European statistics.

Suggested Citation

  • Brandolini Andrea & Carta Francesca, 2016. "Some Reflections on the Social Welfare Bases of the Measurement of Global Income Inequality," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:globdv:v:7:y:2016:i:1:p:1-15:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/jgd-2016-0007
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    13. Thomas Goda & Alejandro Torres García, 2017. "The Rising Tide of Absolute Global Income Inequality During 1850–2010: Is It Driven by Inequality Within or Between Countries?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 1051-1072, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Brandolini & John Micklewright, 2020. "Tony Atkinson’s new book, Measuring Poverty Around the World. Some further reflections," Working Papers 518, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    2. Martin Ravallion, 2018. "Inequality and Globalization: A Review Essay," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(2), pages 620-642, June.
    3. Ravallion, Martin, 2019. "Global inequality when unequal countries create unequal people," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 85-97.
    4. Andrea Brandolini & Alfonso Rosolia, 2019. "The Distribution of Well-Being among Europeans," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1052, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    5. Martin Ravallion, 2018. "What might explain today’s conflicting narratives on global inequality?," WIDER Working Paper Series 141, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Martin Ravallion, 2018. "What might explain today's conflicting narratives on global inequality?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-141, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Andrea Brandolini & John Micklewright, 2023. "Measuring global poverty," Chapters, in: Jacques Silber (ed.), Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation, chapter 6, pages 60-69, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Erin Lockwood, 2021. "The international political economy of global inequality," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 421-445, March.
    9. Milanovic Branko & Roemer John E., 2016. "Interaction of Global and National Income Inequalities," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 109-115, June.
    10. Giuseppe Vita, 2020. "Recent legislative measures to reduce overcrowding of prisons in Italy: a preliminary assessment of their economic impact," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 277-299, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    European Union inequality; global income inequality; global social welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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