Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The policy significance of inequality decompositions

  • Published:
The Journal of Economic Inequality Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Economists are now familiar with ‘between’ and ‘within’ group inequality decompositions, for race, gender, spatial units, etc. But what exactly is the normative significance of the empirical results produced by these decompositions? This paper raises some basic questions about policy interpretations of decompositions that are found in the literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Akerlof, G. and Kranton, R.: Economics and identity, Quarterly Journal of Economics 115(3) (2000), 715–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Anand, S.: Inequality and Poverty in Malaysia: Measurement and Decomposition, Oxford University, Oxford, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Au, C.-C. and Henderson, V.: How Migration Restrictions Limit Agglomeration and Productivity in China. Paper presented at the Cornell/LSE/WIDER Conference on Spatial Inequality and Development. Downloadable from http://www.unu.wider.edu, 2002.

  4. Collier, P. and Hoeffler, A.: On the economic causes of Civil Wars, Oxford Economic Papers 50 (1998), 563–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Cowell, F.A.: Measurement of inequality, In: A.B. Atkinson and F. Bourguignon (eds.), Handbook of Income Distribution, North Holland, Amsterdam, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Dasgputa, I. and Kanbur, R.: Bridging communal divides: Separation, patronage, integration, In: C.B. Barrett (ed), The Social Economics of Poverty: Identities, Groups, Communities and Networks, Routledge, London, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Easterly, W. and Levine, R.: Africa's growth tragedy: Policy and ethnic divisions, Quarterly Journal of Economics 112(4) (1997), 1203–1250, November.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Elbers, C., Lanjouw, P., Mistiaen, J., Ozler, B. and Simler, K.: On the unequal inequality of poor communities, World Bank Economic Review 18(3) (2004), 401–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Elbers, C., Lanjouw, P., Mistiaen, J. and Ozler, B.: Re-interpreting Sub-Group Inequality Decompositions, World Bank, processed, 2005.

  10. Foster, J. and Sen, A.K.: On Economic Inequality. Expanded Edition, Clarendon, Oxford, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Fujita, M., Krugman, P. and Venables, A.J.: The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions and International Trade, MIT, 1999.

  12. Kanbur, R.: Income distribution and development, In: A.B. Atkinson and F. Bourguignon (eds.), Handbook of Income Distribution, North Holland, Amsterdam, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kanbur, R.: Education, Empowerment and Gender Inequalities, In: B. Pleskovic and N. Stern (eds.), The New Reform Agenda, Oxford University Press for The World Bank, 2003.

  14. Kanbur, R. and Zhang, X.: Which regional inequality? The evolution of rural–urban and inland–coastal inequality in China, Journal of Comparative Economics 27 (1999), 686–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ravallion, M.: Externalities in rural development: Evidence for China, In: R. Kanbur and A.J. Venables (eds.), Spatial Inequality and Development, Oxford University Press, 2005.

  16. Shorrocks, A.F. and Wan, G.: Spatial decomposition of inequality, Journal of Economic Geography 5(1) (2005), 59–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ravi Kanbur.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kanbur, R. The policy significance of inequality decompositions. J Econ Inequal 4, 367–374 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-005-9013-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-005-9013-5

Key words

JEL classification

Navigation