IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jecinq/v13y2015i4p557-578.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Appraising income inequality databases in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • François Bourguignon

Abstract

This paper provides an evaluation of the main income distribution databases in Latin America: the CEPALSTAT and the SEDLAC databases. Alhough they rely on the same household surveys conducted by national statistical offices in the region, the indicators reported in the two databases differ substantially in a number of cases. Those differences come from distinct adjustments made to the original data, in particular an adjustment to National Accounts aggregate income data in the CEPALSTAT database. Based on this comparison, the paper then provides a general discussion of the adjustment of household survey data to National Accounts as well as other issues which may be responsible for biases in the way inequality is estimated and reported. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • François Bourguignon, 2015. "Appraising income inequality databases in Latin America," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(4), pages 557-578, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:13:y:2015:i:4:p:557-578
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-015-9304-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10888-015-9304-4
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10888-015-9304-4?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. ,, 2001. "Problems And Solutions," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(6), pages 1157-1160, December.
    2. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_poverty_mdg.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Angus Deaton, 2005. "Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 1-19, February.
    4. Ferreira, Francisco H. G. & Leite, Phillippe G. & Litchfield, Julie A., 2008. "The Rise And Fall Of Brazilian Inequality: 1981–2004," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(S2), pages 199-230, September.
    5. Lustig, Nora & Lopez-Calva, Luis F. & Ortiz-Juarez, Eduardo, 2013. "Declining Inequality in Latin America in the 2000s: The Cases of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 129-141.
    6. Angus Deaton, 2003. "How to Monitor Poverty for the Millennium Development Goals," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 353-378.
    7. Miguel Szekely & Nora Lustig & Martin Cumpa & Jose Antonio Mejia, 2004. "Do we know how much poverty there is?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 523-558.
    8. Beccaría, Luis Alberto, 2007. "La medición del ingreso para los estudios de pobreza en América Latina: aspectos conceptuales y empíricos," Estudios Estadísticos 4764, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    9. Angus Deaton, 2005. "ERRATUM: Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 395-395, May.
    10. Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty, 2010. "Top Incomes : A Global Perspective," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00754875, HAL.
    11. Martin Ravallion, 2003. "Measuring Aggregate Welfare in Developing Countries: How Well Do National Accounts and Surveys Agree?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(3), pages 645-652, August.
    12. ,, 2001. "Problems And Solutions," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(5), pages 1025-1031, October.
    13. Malpezzi, Stephen & Mayo, Stephen K, 1987. "The Demand for Housing in Developing Countries: Empirical Estimates from Household Data," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(4), pages 687-721, July.
    14. Atkinson, A. B. & Piketty, Thomas (ed.), 2010. "Top Incomes: A Global Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199286898.
    15. Oscar Altimir, 1987. "Income Distribution Statistics In Latin America And Their Reliability," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 33(2), pages 111-155, June.
    16. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_poverty_mdg is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Galván, Marco & Medina H., Fernando, 2008. "Descomposición del coeficiente de Gini por fuentes de ingreso: evidencia empírica para América Latina 1999-2005," Estudios Estadísticos 4767, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    18. David Bravo & José A. Valderrama Torres, 2011. "The impact of income adjustments in the Casen Survey on the measurement of inequality in Chile," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 38(1 Year 20), pages 43-65, June.
    19. Medina H., Fernando, 1999. "El ingreso y," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 31329, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    20. World Bank, 2013. "Measuring the Real Size of the World Economy : The Framework, Methodology, and Results of the International Comparison Program—ICP," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13329.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Dhongde, Shatakshee & Minoiu, Camelia, 2013. "Global Poverty Estimates: A Sensitivity Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-13.
    2. Alvaredo, Facundo & Bourguignon, François & Ferreira, Francisco H. G. & Lustig, Nora, 2023. "Seventy-five Years of Measuring Income Inequality in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13157, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Facundo Alvaredo & Mauricio de Rosa & Ignacio Flores & Marc Morgan, 2022. "The Inequality (or the Growth) we Measure: Data Gaps and the Distribution of Incomes," Working Papers halshs-03693223, HAL.
    4. Channing Arndt & Kristi Mahrt, 2017. "Is inequality underestimated in Mozambique? Accounting for underreported consumption," WIDER Working Paper Series 153, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Diego Winkelried & Bruno Escobar, 2022. "Declining inequality in Latin America? Robustness checks for Peru," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 223-243, March.
    6. Nora Lustig, 2020. "The ``missing rich'' in household surveys: causes and correction approaches," Working Papers 520, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    7. Charlotte Guénard & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, 2004. "Measuring inequalities: Do the surveys give the real picture? Study of two surveys in Cote d’Ivoire and Madagascar," Working Papers DT/2004/13, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation), revised Dec 2004.
    8. Facundo Alvaredo & Leonardo Gasparini, 2013. "Recent Trends in Inequality and Poverty in Developing Countries," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0151, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    9. Facundo Alvaredo & Cecilia García-Peñalosa, 2018. "Top incomes, wealth and inheritance: special issue in homage to Tony Atkinson," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(2), pages 131-136, June.
    10. Jose De Gregorio & Manuel Taboada, 2022. "Median Labor Income in Chile Revised: Insights from Distributional National Accounts," Working Papers wp532, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    11. Ruiz-Castillo, Javier, 2005. "Relative and absolute poverty : the case of México, 1992-2004," UC3M Working papers. Economics we061103, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    12. Nora Lustig, 2019. "The “Missing Rich” in Household Surveys: Causes and Correction Approaches," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 75, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    13. Charlotte Guénard & Sandrine Mesplé‐Somps, 2010. "Measuring Inequalities: Do Household Surveys Paint A Realistic Picture?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(3), pages 519-538, September.
    14. Channing Arndt & Kristi Mahrt, 2017. "Is inequality underestimated in Mozambique?: Accounting for underreported consumption," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-153, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Rodríguez Weber, Javier, 2015. "Estimación de desigualdad de ingreso y otras variables relacionadas para Chile entre 1860 y 1970. Metodología y resultados obtenidos [Income inequality estimates for Chile between 1860 and 1970. Me," MPRA Paper 68400, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Rafael Carranza & Marc Morgan & Brian Nolan, 2023. "Top Income Adjustments and Inequality: An Investigation of the EU‐SILC," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(3), pages 725-754, September.
    17. Facundo Alveredo & Juliana Londoño Vélez, 2013. "High incomes and personal taxation in a developing economy: Colombia 1993-2010," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 12, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    18. Sean Higgins & Nora Lustig & Whitney Ruble & Timothy M. Smeeding, 2016. "Comparing the Incidence of Taxes and Social Spending in Brazil and the United States," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 62(S1), pages 22-46, August.
    19. Christoph Lakner & Branko Milanovic, 2016. "Global Income Distribution: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Great Recession," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 203-232.
    20. B. Milanovic, 2014. "The Return of “Patrimonial Capitalism”: A Reviewof Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 9.

    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:kap:jecinq:v:13:y:2015:i:4:p:557-578. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.