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The relativity of decreasing inequality between countries

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Bosmans, Kristof [Maastricht University] Decancq, Koen [UCL] Decoster, André [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]

We study the evolution of population-weighted between country inequality in the period 1980-2009. Whereas previous studies almost exclusively focused on relative inequality measures, we consider relative, absolute and intermediate versions of the Lorenz dominance criterion and of the S-Gini and generalized entropy classes of inequality measures. The analysis yields robust evidence for increasing absolute inequality. Moreover, this conclusion is preserved for intermediate views substantially in the direction of the relative view. In contrast, robust evidence for decreasing inequality - be it relative, absolute or intermediate - is virtually absent. These findings challenge the widely accepted claim of decreasing between-country inequality.

Document type Article de périodique (Journal article) – Article de recherche
Access type Accès interdit
Publication date 2014
Language Anglais
Journal information "Economica" - Vol. 81, no.322, p. 276-292 (2014)
Peer reviewed yes
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ((United Kingdom) Chichester)
issn 0013-0427
e-issn 1468-0335
Publication status Publié
Affiliation UCL - SSH/LIDAM/CORE - Center for operations research and econometrics
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Bibliographic reference Bosmans, Kristof ; Decancq, Koen ; Decoster, André. The relativity of decreasing inequality between countries. In: Economica, Vol. 81, no.322, p. 276-292 (2014)
Permanent URL http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/146928