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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).
​This book presents a rigorous treatment of the mathematical instruments available for dealing with income distributions, in particular Lorenz curves and related methods. The methods examined allow us to analyze, compare and modify such distributions from an economic and social perspective. Though balanced income distributions are key to peaceful coexistence within and between nations, it is often difficult to identify the right kind of balance needed, because there is an interesting interaction with innovation and economic growth. The issue of justice, as discussed in Thomas Piketty’s bestseller “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” or in the important book “The Price of Inequality” by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, is also touched on. Further, there is a close connection to the issue of democracy in the context of globalization. One highlight of the book is its rigorous treatment of the so-called Atkinson theorem and some extensions, which help to explain under which type of societal utility functions nations tend to operate either in the direction of more balance or less balance. Finally, there are some completely new insights into changing the balance pattern of societies and the kind of coalitions between richer and poorer parts of society to organize political support in democracies in either case. Oxford University's Sir Tony Atkinson, well known for his so-called Atkinson theorem, writes in his foreword to the book: “[The authors] contribute directly to t he recent debates that are going on in politics. [...] with this book the foundation of arguments concerning a proper balance in income distribution in the sense of identifying an ‘efficient inequality range’ has got an additional push from mathematics, which I appreciate very much.”
This practical introduction to second-order and growth mixture models using Mplus introduces simple and complex techniques through incremental steps. The authors extend latent growth curves to second-order growth curve and mixture models and then combine the two. To maximize understanding, each model is presented with basic structural equations, figures with associated syntax that highlight what the statistics mean, Mplus applications, and an interpretation of results. Examples from a variety of disciplines demonstrate the use of the models and exercises allow readers to test their understanding of the techniques. A comprehensive introduction to confirmatory factor analysis, latent growth curve modeling, and growth mixture modeling is provided so the book can be used by readers of various skill levels. The book’s datasets are available on the web. Highlights include: -Illustrative examples using Mplus 7.4 include conceptual figures, Mplus program syntax, and an interpretation of results to show readers how to carry out the analyses with actual data. -Exercises with an answer key allow readers to practice the skills they learn. -Applications to a variety of disciplines appeal to those in the behavioral, social, political, educational, occupational, business, and health sciences. -Data files for all the illustrative examples and exercises at www.routledge.com/9781138925151 allow readers to test their understanding of the concepts. -Point to Remember boxes aid in reader comprehension or provide in-depth discussions of key statistical or theoretical concepts. Part 1 introduces basic structural equation modeling (SEM) as well as first- and second-order growth curve modeling. The book opens with the basic concepts from SEM, possible extensions of conventional growth curve models, and the data and measures used throughout the book. The subsequent chapters in part 1 explain the extensions. Chapter 2 introduces conventional modeling of multidimensional panel data, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and growth curve modeling, and its limitations. The logical and theoretical extension of a CFA to a second-order growth curve, known as curve-of-factors model (CFM), are explained in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 illustrates the estimation and interpretation of unconditional and conditional CFMs. Chapter 5 presents the logical and theoretical extension of a parallel process model to a second-order growth curve, known as factor-of-curves model (FCM). Chapter 6 illustrates the estimation and interpretation of unconditional and conditional FCMs. Part 2 reviews growth mixture modeling including unconditional growth mixture modeling (Ch. 7) and conditional growth mixture models (Ch. 8). How to extend second-order growth curves (curve-of-factors and factor-of-curves models) to growth mixture models is highlighted in Chapter 9. Ideal as a supplement for use in graduate courses on (advanced) structural equation, multilevel, longitudinal, or latent variable modeling, latent growth curve and mixture modeling, factor analysis, multivariate statistics, or advanced quantitative techniques (methods) taught in psychology, human development and family studies, business, education, health, and social sciences, this book’s practical approach also appeals to researchers. Prerequisites include a basic knowledge of intermediate statistics and structural equation modeling.
Accompanying the book, as with all TELOS sponsored publications, is an electronic component. In this case it is a DOS-Diskette produced by one of the coauthors, Paul Wellin. This diskette consists of Mathematica notebooks and packages which contain the codes for all examples and exercises in the book, as well as additional materials intended to extend many ideas covered in the text. It is of great value to teachers, students, and others using this book to learn how to effectively program with Mathematica .
This book looks at the distribution of income and wealth and the effects that this has on the macroeconomy, and vice versa. Is a more equal distribution of income beneficial or harmful for macroeconomic growth, and how does the distribution of wealth evolve in a market economy? Taking stock of results and methods developed in the context of the 1990s revival of growth theory, the authors focus on capital accumulation and long-run growth. They show how rigorous, optimization-based technical tools can be applied, beyond the representative-agent framework of analysis, to account for realistic market imperfections and for political-economic interactions. The treatment is thorough, yet accessible to students and nonspecialist economists, and it offers specialist readers a wide-ranging and innovative treatment of an increasingly important research field. The book follows a single analytical thread through a series of different growth models, allowing readers to appreciate their structure and crucial assumptions. This is particularly useful at a time when the literature on income distribution and growth has developed quickly and in several different directions, becoming difficult to overview.
The first monograph in econophysics focussed on the analyses and modelling of these distributions, ideal for physicists and economists.
Gini's mean difference (GMD) was first introduced by Corrado Gini in 1912 as an alternative measure of variability. GMD and the parameters which are derived from it (such as the Gini coefficient or the concentration ratio) have been in use in the area of income distribution for almost a century. In practice, the use of GMD as a measure of variability is justified whenever the investigator is not ready to impose, without questioning, the convenient world of normality. This makes the GMD of critical importance in the complex research of statisticians, economists, econometricians, and policy makers. This book focuses on imitating analyses that are based on variance by replacing variance with the GMD and its variants. In this way, the text showcases how almost everything that can be done with the variance as a measure of variability, can be replicated by using Gini. Beyond this, there are marked benefits to utilizing Gini as opposed to other methods. One of the advantages of using Gini methodology is that it provides a unified system that enables the user to learn about various aspects of the underlying distribution. It also provides a systematic method and a unified terminology. Using Gini methodology can reduce the risk of imposing assumptions that are not supported by the data on the model. With these benefits in mind the text uses the covariance-based approach, though applications to other approaches are mentioned as well.
This text addresses the understanding and alleviation of poverty, inequality, and inequity using a unique and broad mix of concepts, measurement methods, statistical tools, software, and practical exercises. Part I discusses basic fundamental issues of well-being and poverty measurement. Part II develops an integrated framework for measuring poverty, social welfare, inequality, vertical equity, horizontal equity, and redistribution. Part III presents and develops recent methods for testing the robustness of distributive rankings. Part IV discusses ways of using policy to alleviate poverty, improve welfare, increase equity, and assess the impact of growth. Part V applies the tools to real data. Most of the book’s measurement and statistical tools have been programmed in DAD, a well established and widely available free software program that has been tailored especially for income distribution analysis and is used by scholars, researchers, and analysts in nearly 100 countries worldwide. It requires basic understanding of calculus and statistics. Abdelkrim Araar and Jean-Yves Duclos teach economics at Université Laval in Québec City.
Economy, Society, and Public Policy is a new way to learn economics. It is designed specifically for students studying social sciences, public policy, business studies, engineering and other disciplines who want to understand how the economy works and how it can be made to work better. Topical policy problems are used to motivate learning of key concepts and methods of economics. It engages, challenges and empowers students, and will provide them with the tools to articulate reasoned views on pressing policy problems. This project is the result of a worldwide collaboration between researchers, educators, and students who are committed to bringing the socially relevant insights of economics to a broader audience.KEY FEATURESESPP does not teach microeconomics as a body of knowledge separate from macroeconomicsStudents begin their study of economics by understanding that the economy is situated within society and the biosphereStudents study problems of identifying causation, not just correlation, through the use of natural experiments, lab experiments, and other quantitative methodsSocial interactions, modelled using simple game theory, and incomplete information, modelled using a series of principal-agent problems, are introduced from the beginning. As a result, phenomena studied by the other social sciences such as social norms and the exercise of power play a roleThe insights of diverse schools of thought, from Marx and the classical economists to Hayek and Schumpeter, play an integral part in the bookThe way economists think about public policy is central to ESPP. This is introduced in Units 2 and 3, rather than later in the course.
Deals with income distribution methods and their economic applications.