Modeling Income Distributions and Lorenz Curves: 5 (Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion and Well-Being, 5) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0387727566 ISBN 13: 9780387727561

Publisher: Springer, 2008

Synopsis

Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote in the Preface to his famous Discourse on Inequality that “I consider the subject of the following discourse as one of the most interesting questions philosophy can propose, and unhappily for us, one of the most thorny that philosophers can have to solve. For how shall we know the source of inequality between men, if we do not begin by knowing mankind?” (Rousseau, 1754). This citation of Rousseau appears in an article in Spanish where Dagum (2001), in the memory of whom this book is published, also cites Socrates who said that the only useful knowledge is that which makes us better and Seneca who wrote that knowing what a straight line is, is not important if we do not know what rectitude is. These references are indeed a good illustration of Dagum’s vast knowledge, which was clearly not limited to the ?eld of Economics. For Camilo the ?rst part of Rousseau’s citation certainly justi?ed his interest in the ?eld of inequality which was at the centre of his scienti?c preoccupations. It should however be stressed that for Camilo the second part of the citation represented a “solid argument in favor of giving macroeconomic foundations to microeconomic behavior” (Dagum, 2001). More precisely, “individualism and methodological holism complete each other in contributing to the explanation of individual and social behavior” (Dagum, 2001).

About this title

From the Back Cover

The parameterization of income distributions and Lorenz Curves is a useful approach for representing how income is distributed within a given population. It provides a way of describing how the data are generated, why the level of inequality is what it is, and what happens to the poorer sections of the population. This book brings together classic papers in the field, including Camilo Dagum’s most influential contribution, survey papers outlining the state-of-the-art of the field, and cutting-edge research contributions. While providing a thorough overview of the methodology of income distribution modeling, the book emphasizes its relevance on development economics and its importance for policy makers who design and assess poverty alleviation and income redistribution policies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0387727566
• ISBN 13: 9780387727561
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Chotikapanich Duangkamon