Thinking about Inequality Personal Judgment and Income Distributions [Paperback]

A non-technical analysis of inequality and income distribution, first published in 1999.This upper level textbook and research resource for scholars and policy makers offers a non-technical analysis of inequality and income distribution. It deals with the way that broad ideas about the meaning of inequality are translated into specific statistical tools and with the appropriateness of the assumptions used in the literature. Along with 'cake-sharing' issues Cowell and Amiel consider social welfare, the relationship between inequality and growth and the meaning of poverty comparisons.This upper level textbook and research resource for scholars and policy makers offers a non-technical analysis of inequality and income distribution. It deals with the way that broad ideas about the meaning of inequality are translated into specific statistical tools and with the appropriateness of the assumptions used in the literature. Along with 'cake-sharing' issues Cowell and Amiel consider social welfare, the relationship between inequality and growth and the meaning of poverty comparisons.What is inequality? In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in the subject that has yielded a substantial body of formal tools and results for income-distribution analysis. But does the standard axiomatic structure coincide with public perceptions of inequality? Or is the economist's concept of inequality a thing apart, perpetuated through serial brainwashing in the way the subject is studied and taught? Amiel and Cowell examine the evidence from a large international questionnaire experiment using student respondents. Along with basic cake-sharing issues, related questions involving social-welfare rankings, the relationship between inequality and overall income growth and the meaning of poverty comparisons are considered.Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. What is inequality? The economists' view; 3. An investigative strategy; 4. What is inequality? The students' view; 5. Income lÓ(