Distance-based social index numbers: a unifying approach

in Journal of Mathematical Economics (2022)

We present a unified approach to the design of social index numbers. Our starting point is a model that employs an exogenously given partition of the population into subgroups. Three classes of group ... [more ▼]

We present a unified approach to the design of social index numbers. Our starting point is a model that employs an exogenously given partition of the population into subgroups. Three classes of group-dependent measures of deprivation are characterized. The three groups are nested and, beginning with the largest of these, we narrow them down by successively adding two additional axioms. This leads to a parameterized class the members of which are based on the differences between the income (or wealth) levels of an individual and those who are better off. We then proceed to show that our measures are sufficiently general to accommodate a plethora of indices, including measures of inequality and polarization as well as distance-based measures of phenomena such as diversity and fractionalization. [less ▲]

The Measurement of Resilience

in Journal of Economic Theory (2020), 189

Resilience has become an important topic in many social sciences. Numerous individual choices and economic and demographic outcomes are likely to be influenced by people’s resilience. School performance ... [more ▼]

Resilience has become an important topic in many social sciences. Numerous individual choices and economic and demographic outcomes are likely to be influenced by people’s resilience. School performance, work absenteeism and burnout, longevity, the quality of sleep and health-risk behaviors such as substance abuse are some examples. Similarly, it is of high policy relevance to understand the determinants of both individual resilience (such as educational, marital and occupational status) and ecological resilience (such as climate change). Empirical work designed to uncover such relationships suffers from the absence of a resilience measure applicable in the context of large data sets. We fill this gap by proposing a specific measure that is characterized by a set of natural properties. After an introduction to the notion of resilience and its attributes, we argue why these conditions have intuitive appeal. Finally, we provide illustrating examples and derive our main characterization result. [less ▲]

Intertemporal material deprivation: a proposal and an application to EU countries

in Dasgupta, Indraneel; Mitra, Manipushpak (Eds.) Deprivation, Inequality and Polarization: Essays in Honour of Satya Ranjan Chakravarty (2019)

This paper analyzes the effects of the inclusion of past experiences in measuring current material deprivation. The method followed generalizes the proposal of Bossert, Ceriani, Chakravarty and D'Ambrosio ... [more ▼]

This paper analyzes the effects of the inclusion of past experiences in measuring current material deprivation. The method followed generalizes the proposal of Bossert, Ceriani, Chakravarty and D'Ambrosio (2014) by adapting the class of indices on the measurement of poverty over time of Dutta, Roope and Zank (2013). An application to the analysis of material deprivation within EU countries is then provided. Following the path of material deprivation experienced by each individual over time yields a picture which differs from that in the annual results. Since the measurement of material deprivation is used by the EU member states and the European Commission to monitor national and EU progress in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the results suggest that time cannot be neglected. Countries should not only be compared based on their year-by-year results, but additional information is gained by following individuals over time and producing an aggregate measure once dynamic considerations are taken into consideration. [less ▲]

Measuring rank mobility with variable population size

in Social Choice and Welfare (2016), 46

We provide a characterization of a class of rank-mobility measures. These measures generalize the Kemeny measure that is well-known from the literature on measuring the distance between orderings. We use ... [more ▼]

We provide a characterization of a class of rank-mobility measures. These measures generalize the Kemeny measure that is well-known from the literature on measuring the distance between orderings. We use replication invariance to ensure that our measures are applicable in variable-population settings. The rank-based approach to mobility has a natural connection with the study of social status. Rank-based measures are widely applied in empirical research but their theoretical foundation is still in need of further investigation, and we consider our approach to be a contribution towards this objective. [less ▲]

Proximity-sensitive individual deprivation measures

in Economics Letters (2014), 122

We propose and characterize a generalization of the classical linear index of individual deprivation based on income shortfalls. Unlike the original measure, our class allows for increases in the income ... [more ▼]

We propose and characterize a generalization of the classical linear index of individual deprivation based on income shortfalls. Unlike the original measure, our class allows for increases in the income of a higher-income individual to have a stronger impact on a person’s deprivation the closer they occur to the income of the individual whose deprivation is being assessed. The subclass of our measures with this property is axiomatized in our second result. [less ▲]

Measuring Economic Insecurity

in International Economic Review (2013), 54

We provide an axiomatic treatment of the measurement of economic insecurity, assuming that individual insecurity depends on the current wealth level and its variations experienced in the past. The first ... [more ▼]

We provide an axiomatic treatment of the measurement of economic insecurity, assuming that individual insecurity depends on the current wealth level and its variations experienced in the past. The first component plays the role of a buffer stock to rely on in case of an adverse future event. The second component determines the confidence an individual has on her ability to overcome a loss in the future. Two classes of linear measures are characterized with sets of plausible and intuitive axioms and, for each of these classes, an important subclass is identified. [less ▲]

A Generalized Index of Fractionalization

in Economica (2011), 78

This paper characterizes an index that is informationally richer than the commonly used ethno-linguistic fractionalization (ELF) index. Our measure of fractionalization takes as a primitive the ... [more ▼]

This paper characterizes an index that is informationally richer than the commonly used ethno-linguistic fractionalization (ELF) index. Our measure of fractionalization takes as a primitive the individuals, as opposed to ethnic groups, and uses information on the similarities among them. Compared to existing indices, our measure does not require that individuals are pre-assigned to exogenously determined categories or groups. We provided an empirical illustration of how our index can be operationalized and what difference it makes as compared to the standard ELF index. This application pertains to the pattern of fractionalization in the USA. [less ▲]