Comparisons of utility inequality and income inequality

被引:3
|
作者
Mathews, Timothy [1 ]
Schwartz, Jesse A. [1 ]
机构
[1] Kennesaw State Univ, Dept Econ Finance & Quantitat Anal, 560 Parliament Garden Way,Mail Drop 0403, Kennesaw, GA 30144 USA
关键词
Income inequality; Utility inequality;
D O I
10.1016/j.econlet.2019.02.015
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
A simple theoretical model is developed and analyzed to investigate the possible relationships between income inequality and utility inequality. Measuring utility inequality and income inequality with Gini coefficients, it is argued that there need not be any relation whatsoever between the realized levels of inequality in these two distinct outcomes. That is, a high level of income inequality could result when there is either equally high or absolutely no utility inequality, and a low level of income inequality could result when there is either no utility inequality or a relatively high degree of utility inequality. Consequently, if what we are actually concerned with is inequality in utility or well-being, observations on income inequality might be meaningless. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:18 / 20
页数:3
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