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| Atkinson Index× | Theil Segregation Index× | |
|---|---|---|
| Field | Sociology | Sociology |
| Family | Process / pipeline | Process / pipeline |
| Year of origin≠ | 1970 | 1971 |
| Originator≠ | Anthony Barnes Atkinson | Henri Theil & Anthony Finizza |
| Type≠ | Welfare-based, parameterized inequality index | Entropy-based multigroup segregation index |
| Seminal source≠ | Atkinson, A. B. (1970). On the measurement of inequality. Journal of Economic Theory, 2(3), 244–263. DOI ↗ | Theil, H., & Finizza, A. J. (1971). A note on the measurement of racial integration of schools by means of informational concepts. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 1(2), 187–193. DOI ↗ |
| Aliases≠ | Atkinson inequality measure, Atkinson's A, welfare-based inequality index | Theil's H, information theory index, entropy segregation index, multigroup entropy index |
| Related | 5 | 5 |
| Summary≠ | The Atkinson index is a welfare-based measure of inequality that incorporates an explicit, analyst-chosen parameter for how much society dislikes inequality. Introduced by Anthony Atkinson in 1970, it asks what fraction of total income could be discarded, under an equal distribution, while leaving social welfare unchanged — making the ethical judgement behind any inequality comparison transparent rather than hidden. | Theil's information index, denoted H, is an entropy-based measure of segregation that, unlike the two-group dissimilarity index, handles any number of groups at once. It compares the diversity (entropy) found within each unit to the diversity of the whole population: segregation is high when units are internally homogeneous even though the overall population is diverse. Its defining virtue is exact decomposability across nested levels and across groups. |
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