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Theil, inequality and the structure of income distribution

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  • Cowell, Frank

Abstract

Theil’s information-theoretic approach to the measurement of inequality (Theil 1967) is set in the context of subsequent developments over recent decades. It is shown that Theil’s initial insight leads naturally to a very general class of inequality measures. It is thus closely related to a number of other commonly used families of inequality measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Cowell, Frank, 2003. "Theil, inequality and the structure of income distribution," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 2288, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:2288
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gine, Xavier, 2005. "Cultivate or rent out ? Land security in rural Thailand," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3734, The World Bank.
    3. Sulekha Hembram & Sushil Kr. Haldar, 2019. "Beta, sigma and club convergence: Indian experience from 1980 to 2015," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 343-366, December.
    4. Chen, Lei & Xu, Linyu & Yang, Zhifeng, 2019. "Inequality of industrial carbon emissions of the urban agglomeration and its peripheral cities: A case in the Pearl River Delta, China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 438-447.
    5. Sushil Kr. Haldar & Sulekha Hembram & Suraj Das, 2023. "Multidimensional Human Deprivation in India: Does Club Convergence Exist?," Millennial Asia, , vol. 14(2), pages 200-227, June.
    6. Eduardo Michel Camacho & Willy W. Cortez, 2012. "Distribución del ingreso y bienestar social en México 1984-2008," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 27(2), pages 347-378.
    7. Sergio Firpo & Cristine Pinto, 2016. "Identification and Estimation of Distributional Impacts of Interventions Using Changes in Inequality Measures," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 457-486, April.
    8. Aoki, Shuhei, 2008. "Aggregate Productivity Loss and the Theil Index of Inequality," MPRA Paper 7407, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Tudorel Andrei & Bogdan Oancea & Peter Richmond & Gurjeet Dhesi & Claudiu Herteliu, 2017. "Decomposition of the Inequality of Income Distribution by Income Types - Application for Romania," Papers 1709.07960, arXiv.org.
    10. Mbanda, Vandudzai & Bonga-Bonga, Lumengo, 2018. "CGE Microsimulation Analysis of Electricity Tariff Increases: The Case of South Africa," MPRA Paper 90120, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Francesca Greselin & Ričardas Zitikis, 2018. "From the Classical Gini Index of Income Inequality to a New Zenga-Type Relative Measure of Risk: A Modeller’s Perspective," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-20, January.
    12. Kanbur, Ravi, 2024. "Shannon-Theil-Rawls: Information Theory, Inequality and the Veil of Ignorance," CEPR Discussion Papers 18864, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Firpo, Sergio Pinheiro, 2010. "Identification and estimation of interventions using changes in inequality measures," Textos para discussão 214, FGV EESP - Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).
    14. Lanjouw, P. & Marra, M.R., 2018. "Urban poverty across the spectrum of Vietnam’s towns and cities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 295-306.
    15. Kanbur, Ravi, 2024. "Shannon-Theil-Rawls: Information Theory, Inequality and the Veil of Ignorance," CEPR Discussion Papers 18864, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Theil; inequality; independence; homotheticity; translatability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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