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Inequality measurement and the rich: why inequality increased more than we thought

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  • Cowell, Frank A.
  • Flachaire, Emmanuel

Abstract

To compare income and wealth distributions and to assess the effects of policy that affect those distributions require reliable inequality-measurement tools. However, commonly used inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient have an apparently counter-intuitive property: income growth among the rich may actually reduce measured inequality. We show that there are just two inequality measures that both avoid this anomalous behavior and satisfy the principle of transfers. We further show that the recent increases in US income inequality are understated by the conventional Gini coefficient and explain why a simple alternative inequality measure should be preferred in practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Cowell, Frank A. & Flachaire, Emmanuel, 2023. "Inequality measurement and the rich: why inequality increased more than we thought," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118560, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:118560
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard V. Burkhauser & Shuaizhang Feng & Stephen P. Jenkins & Jeff Larrimore, 2009. "Recent trends in top income shares in the USA: Reconciling estimates from March CPS and IRS tax return data," Working Papers 139, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
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    8. Frank A. Cowell & Emmanuel Flachaire, 2017. "Inequality with Ordinal Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 84(334), pages 290-321, April.
    9. Atkinson, A. B. & Piketty, Thomas (ed.), 2010. "Top Incomes: A Global Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199286898.
    10. Frank Cowell & Emmanuel Flachaire, 2021. "Inequality Measurement: Methods and Data," Post-Print hal-03589066, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Satya R. Chakravarty & Palash Sarkar, 2023. "New perspectives on the Gini and Bonferroni indices of inequality," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 60(1), pages 47-64, January.
    2. Juan C Palomino & Gustavo A Marrero & Brian Nolan & Juan G Rodríguez, 2022. "Wealth inequality, intergenerational transfers, and family background [Intergenerational wealth mobility and the role of inheritance: Evidence from multiple generations]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 643-670.
    3. 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).
    4. Arthur Charpentier & Emmanuel Flachaire, 2024. "Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of changes in means and inequality: A simultaneous approach," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 44(1), pages 308-320.
    5. Marrero,Gustavo Alberto & Rodríguez,Juan Gabriel & Van Der Weide,Roy, 2021. "Does Race and Gender Inequality Impact Income Growth ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9865, The World Bank.
    6. Martin Ravallion & Shaohua Chen, 2022. "Is that really a Kuznets curve? Turning points for income inequality in China," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(4), pages 749-776, December.
    7. Pablo Gutiérrez Cubillos, 2022. "Gini and undercoverage at the upper tail: a simple approximation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(2), pages 443-471, April.
    8. Juan C. Palomino & Gustavo A. Marrero & Brian Nolan & Juan G. Rodriguez, 2020. "Wealth inequality, intergenerational transfers and socioeconomic background," Working Papers 537, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    9. 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).
    10. Leventi, Chrysa & Katsimi, Margarita & Tsakloglou, Panos, 2022. "Going regional: distributional effect of taxes and transfers in six EU countries and the UK," Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis Working Paper Series CEMPA4/22, Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Satya R. Chakravarty & Palash Sarkar, 2023. "Notes on the postulate of the monotonicity in distance in inequality," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 312-322, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gini coefficient; inequality measures; median;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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