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Statistical Measurement of Income Polarization. A cross-national comparison

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  • Axel Schmidt

    (Seminar of Economic and Social Statistics, University of Cologne)

Abstract

While recent research on income polarization is based on only a few approaches, this paper portrays the major methods and applies each to income distributions of Germany (1984-2000) and the US (1984-1997) using the Cross-National Equivalent Files. In addition, statistical inference is provided via bootstrap techniques. Further, we combine kernel density estimation with a unimodality test. The empirical results reveal increasing polarization and inequality in the US while the corresponding figures remain almost constant for Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Axel Schmidt, 2002. "Statistical Measurement of Income Polarization. A cross-national comparison," 10th International Conference on Panel Data, Berlin, July 5-6, 2002 D3-1, International Conferences on Panel Data.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpd:pd2002:d3-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joan Esteban & Carlos Gradín & Debraj Ray, 2007. "An Extension of a Measure of Polarization, with an application to the income distribution of five OECD countries," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Esteban, Joan & Ray, Debraj, 1994. "On the Measurement of Polarization," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(4), pages 819-851, July.
    3. Wolfson, Michael C, 1994. "When Inequalities Diverge," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 353-358, May.
    4. Christian Schluter, 1998. "Income Dynamics in Germany, the USA and the UK: Evidence from Panel Data," CASE Papers case08, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    5. Mills, Jeffrey A & Zandvakili, Sourushe, 1997. "Statistical Inference via Bootstrapping for Measures of Inequality," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 133-150, March-Apr.
    6. Christian Schluter, 1998. "Income Dynamics in Germany, the USA and the UK: Evidence from Panel Data," CASE Papers 008, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    7. Schluter, Christian, 1998. "Income dynamics in Germany, the USA and the UK: evidence from panel data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6527, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Biewen, Martin, 2002. "Bootstrap inference for inequality, mobility and poverty measurement," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 317-342, June.
    9. Conchita D’ambrosio, 2001. "Household Characteristics and the Distribution of Income In Italy: An Application of Social Distance Measures," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 47(1), pages 43-64, March.
    10. SOEP Group, 2001. "The German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) after More than 15 Years: Overview," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 70(1), pages 7-14.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ilaria Petrarca & Roberto Ricciuti, 2015. "Relative income distribution in six European countries: market and disposable income," LIS Working papers 629, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income polarization; bootstrap; kernel density estimation; unimodality test;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C15 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Statistical Simulation Methods: General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I39 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Other

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