STRATIFICATION AND BETWEEN-GROUP INEQUALITY: A NEW INTERPRETATION

Traditionally, the literature has seen stratification as linked closely to within-group inequality. More recently, some papers have focused on measuring the impact of stratification on between-group inequality. In this paper, we show that when two groups are involved, such an impact can be measured by a simple comparison of the two cumulative distribution functions. This approach allows an interpretation of stratification in terms of probabilities and paves the way for a neat and simple graphical illustration. We apply it to the analysis of between-continent inequality.