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A Decomposition of the Atkinson Index through the Shapley Value
Faculty of Economics, Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí; San Luis Potosí, México
- 1 Faculty of Economics, Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí; San Luis Potosí, México
Theoretical Economics Letters·Volume 02 (2012)·Pages 539–544·Published 19 December 2012·DOI10.4236/tel.2012.25100
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Abstract
This paper studies the economic inequality as a phenomenon resulting from two variables: The variable of responsibility which depends on the agents’ performance in the economy, and the variable of opportunity which is independent of the individuals’ performance in the economy. Identifying the contribution of the inequality of opportunity in the total inequality as the problem to be measured, we propose a decomposition of the Atkinson inequality index, by using one of the central solution concepts of cooperative game theory, called the Shapley value.
KeywordsAtkinson IndexShapley ValueOpportunity Inequality
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