Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/283151 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy No. 335
Publisher: 
University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn
Abstract: 
We present a new index for measuring income inequality in networks. The index is based on income comparisons made by the members of a network who are linked with each other by direct social connections. To model the comparisons, we compose a measure of relative deprivation for networks. We base our new index on this measure. The index takes the form of a ratio: the network's aggregate level of relative deprivation divided by the aggregate level of the relative deprivation of a hypothetical network in which one member of the network receives all the income, and it is with this member that the other members of the network compare their incomes. We discuss the merits of this representation. We inquire how changes in the composition of a network affect the index. In addition, we show how the index accommodates specific network characteristics.
Subjects: 
Income inequality in networks
Relative deprivation in networks
An index of income inequality in networks
Compositional changes of networks
JEL: 
D31
D63
I31
L14
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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