Atkinson Index
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.
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Sources
- Atkinson, A. B. (1970). On the measurement of inequality. Journal of Economic Theory, 2(3), 244–263. DOI: 10.1016/0022-0531(70)90039-6 ↗
- Cowell, F. A. (2011). Measuring Inequality (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-959403-0
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Atkinson Index of Inequality. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/sociology/atkinson-index
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
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