Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14994
Authors: Walter Bossert; Conchita D'Ambrosio; Shlomo Weber
Abstract: We present a unified approach to the design of social index numbers. Our starting point is a model that employs an exogenously given partition of the population into subgroups. A general parameterized class of group-dependent measures of deprivation is characterized, based on the differences between the income (or wealth) levels of an individual and those who are better off. We then continue to show that the general structure of our class is capable of accommodating a plethora of indices, including measures of inequality and polarization as well as distance-based measures of phenomena such as diversity and fractionalization.
Keywords: group-dependent deprivation; inequality; polarization; diversity; fractionalization; social index numbers
JEL Codes: D31; D63
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| income differences (D31) | individual deprivation (I32) |
| income levels of those who are better off (I31) | individual deprivation (I32) |
| income differences (D31) | perceived deprivation (I32) |
| individual income comparison to others (D31) | individual deprivation (I32) |