An axiomatic characterization of the Theil inequality ordering (Q2434965)

This article presents an axiomatic characterization of the Theil income inequality ordering. The article begins with an overview of income inequality measures and prior work outlining the properties of the Theil inequality ordering, as well as its comparison to other inequality measures. The authors then define mathematically the necessary background notations, such as generalized society, inequality ordering and index, and generalized entropy index. In the fourth section, the main result is presented which consists of a set of axioms and properties that are necessary and sufficient for a representation by a Theil index. This is then proven in the following section alongside a list of lemmas. The article concludes with a list of references.