Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Measuring ethnic polarization

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Social Choice and Welfare Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An ethnic polarization index is a measure of the extent to which individuals in a population are distributed across different ethnic groups. The objective of this article is to develop some characterizations of the Reynal-Querol (RQ) index of ethnic polarization using alternative sets of independent axioms. A generalized form of RQ is also characterized. Some implications of the axioms are investigated as well.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aczel J (1966) Lectures on functional equations and their applications. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Alesina A, La Ferrara E (2005) Ethnic diversity and economic performance. J Econ Lit 43: 762–800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apostol M (1974) Mathematical analysis. Addison-Wesley, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bossert W, D’Ambrosio C, La Ferrara E (2009) A generalized index of fractionalization. Economica (forthcoming)

  • Chakraborty A, Pattanaik PK, Xu Y (2008) On the mean of squared deprivation gaps. Econ Theory 34: 181–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chakravarty SR (1995) Issues in industrial economics. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Brookfield

    Google Scholar 

  • Chakravarty SR (2009) Inequality, polarization and poverty: advances in distributional analysis. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chakravarty SR, Dutta B (1987) A note on measures of distance between income distributions. J Econ Theory 41: 185–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duclos JY, Esteban JM, Ray D (2004) Polarization: concepts, measurement, estimation. Econometrica 72: 1737–1772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esteban JM, Ray D (1994) On the measurement of polarization. Econometrica 62: 819–851

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esteban JM, Ray D (1999) Conflict and distribution. J Econ Theory 87: 379–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esteban JM, Ray D (2006) Polarization, fractionalization and conflict. Mimeographed CSIC, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster JE, Wolfson MC (2010) Polarization and the decline of the middle class: Canada and the U.S. J Econ Inequal 8: 247–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gehrig W (1988) On the Shannon-Theil concentration measures and its characterizations. In: Eichhorn W. (eds) Measurement in economics. Physica, Heidelberg’, pp 413–427

    Google Scholar 

  • Montalvo JG, Reynal-Querol M (2005) Ethnic polarization, potential conflict and civil Wars. Am Econ Rev 95: 796–816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montalvo JG, Reynal-Querol M (2008) Discrete polarization with an application to the determinants of genocides. Econ J 118: 1835–1865

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynal-Querol M (2002) Ethnicity, political systems and civil wars. J Confl Resolut 46: 29–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudin W (1976) Principles of mathematical analysis. McGraw-Hill, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Vigdor JL (2002) Interpreting ethnic fragmentation effects. Econ Lett 75: 271–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfson MC (1994) When inequalities diverge. Am Econ Rev Pap Proc 84: 353–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfson MC (1997) Divergent inequalities: theory and empirical results. Rev Income Wealth 43: 401–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Economic Research Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 B.T. Road, Kolkata, 700108, India

    Satya R. Chakravarty

  2. Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur, India

    Bhargav Maharaj

Authors
  1. Satya R. Chakravarty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bhargav Maharaj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Satya R. Chakravarty.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chakravarty, S.R., Maharaj, B. Measuring ethnic polarization. Soc Choice Welf 37, 431–452 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-010-0498-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-010-0498-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation