Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/169126 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
Economics Discussion Papers No. 2017-67
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Kiel
Abstract: 
The arguments that the alarming level of Gini coefficient is 0.4 are widely reported. However, to the authors' knowledge, it is not based upon any rigid economic theories. In this paper, they show that Rawls' fairness is compatible with the standard model of competitive markets. This finding reveals that the exponential income distribution not only satisfies Pareto optimality (or efficiency) but also obeys social fairness in Rawls' sense. Therefore, the authors specify the maximal value of Gini coefficients when income follows exponential distribution as a minimal basic reference point of the alarming level (calculated as 0.5), above which efficiency and Rawls' fairness cannot be guaranteed simultaneously. Their empirical investigations show that during peaceful times, worldwide Gini coefficients approximately obey asymptotic normal distribution with a mean around 0.4, contradicting the implication of alarming level; while the two-sigma rule shows that in our sample the alarming levels are all larger than 0.5, conforming to our prediction.
Subjects: 
Rawls' fairness
Competitive equilibrium
Income distribution
Gini coefficient
JEL: 
D31
D51
D63
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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