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The relationship between poverty and inequality: concepts and measurement

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  • Yang, Lin

Abstract

This paper defines and maps the variety of different concepts and measures of poverty and inequality that have been developed and used in research. These reflect differing views of what constitutes a minimum acceptable quality of life and how the disparity between the least and most well-off in society should be defined. Since the analytical conclusions of poverty and inequality research can depend on the concepts and measures chosen, it is worth laying out their underlying rationales. In this paper we discuss the concepts of poverty and inequality in broad terms; the focal variables of poverty and inequality that have been proposed in the literature, from unidimensional monetary indicators to broader multidimensional and subjective concepts; the issues in conducting comparative analyses of poverty and inequality over subgroups of individuals, households, countries and over time; and the properties of measures proposed for summarising levels of poverty and inequality over the population.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Lin, 2017. "The relationship between poverty and inequality: concepts and measurement," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103491, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:103491
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/103491/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yvonne Hail & Ronald McQuaid, 2021. "The Concept of Fairness in Relation to Women Transport Users," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.
    2. Yang, Lin & Vizard, Polly, 2017. "Multidimensional poverty and income inequality in the EU," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103496, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Polly Vizard & Lin Yang, 2017. "Multidimensional poverty and income inequality in the EU," CASE Papers /207, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    poverty; inequalities; capabilities approach; social exclusion; measurement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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