TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kaplow,Louis
TI  - Why Measure Inequality?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 9342
PY  - 2002
Y2  - November 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9342
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w9342.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Louis Kaplow
Harvard University
Hauser 322
Cambridge, MA  02138
Tel: 617/495-4101
Fax: 617/496-4880
E-Mail: meskridge@law.harvard.edu
AB  - A large body of literature is devoted to the measurement of income inequality, yet little attention is given to the question, Why measure inequality?  However, the reasons for measurement bear importantly on whether and how measurement should be done. Upon examination, normative measures are found to be of questionable value.  Descriptive measures, by contrast, may be useful, but the appropriate measure depends on the field of application rather than on general, a priori principles of the sort that are emphasized in the existing measurement literature. Measures of poverty are also considered, and similar conclusions are reached.
ER  -