Semi-orders of income distributions (Q2782249)

The author discusses several semi-orders which can be used to compare income distributions. The first 4 chapters are mainly of mathematical interest, the short 5 th chapter discusses some economic features. NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEChapter 1 gives an overview of the well known Lorenz order and its characteristics. Moreover, generalized Beta-distributions are discussed which contain most of recent income distributions. In chapter 2, the absolute and the generalized Lorenz order are considered, and in chapter 3 the dispersive order which is useful for comparing log incomes. In chapter 4 the focus is on so-called tail orders (on regions of extreme poverty and wealth). E.g., it is shown that US income distributions from 1970 and 1980 cannot be compared by the Lorenz order but can be compared by the lower and upper tail order. In the final chapter a model of tax evasion is introduced using Rao's weighted distributions. The obtained results in this chapter are quite obvious.