Abstract
The ‘vast majority of incomes ratio (VMIR)’ R 0 is the ratio of the average income µ 0 of a poorest majority p 0 of the population to the overall average income µ. Another measure of equality is E 0=(1-G) , where G is the Gini coefficient of inequality of the distribution. Shaikh and Ragab (2007, 2008), employing a wide variety of data sets, have shown (among other things), that when p 0 is 70 %, R 0 serves as a uniformly stable and excellent approximation of E 0. We extend the Shaikh-Ragab findings in two directions. We explore some analytics of the relationship between R 0 and E 0 for a lognormal distribution; and we derive a couple of other V M I R s and related measures of welfare which are distinct from but inspired by the Shaikh-Ragab formulations.
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Lambert, P.J., Subramanian, S. Shaikh and Ragab’s Incomes of the Vast Majority: Some Additions and Extensions. Sankhya B 77, 359–370 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13571-015-0101-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13571-015-0101-7
Keywords and phrases
- Vast majority of incomes ratio
- Lognormal distribution
- Gini coefficient
- Lorenz Curve
- Sen’s welfare index.