Polarization: Concepts, Measurement, Estimation
Abstract
We develop the measurement theory of polarization for the case in which income distributions can be described using density functions. The main theorem uniquely characterizes a class of polarization measures that fits into what we call the “identity-alienation” framework, and simultanously satisfies a set of axioms. Second, we provide sample estimators of population polarization indices that can be used to compare polarization across time or entities. Distribution-free statistical inference results are also used in order to ensure that the orderings of polarization across entities are not simply due to sampling noise. An illustration of the use of these tools using data from 21 countries shows that polarization and inequality orderings can often differ in practice.
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“15 See Jean-Yves Duclos et al. (2004) for a recent reconsideration of the empirical measurement of polarization with Euclidean distances. terms of income or wealth, however, it is not clear which levels distinguish different groups with a common identity.”
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- Authors
- Duclos, J.-Y., Esteban, J., & Ray, D.
- Affiliations
- Université Laval (CA)
- New York University (US)
- ORCID
- Esteban, Joan
- Venue
- Econometrica
- Publisher
- The Econometric Society
- Published
- 2004-11
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1737-1772
- ISSN
- 0012-9682 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-0262
- OpenAlex
- W2098231884
- Semantic Scholar
- 5e00a02f5a0022daee129813697c26f037b18447
- Cited by
- 611
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 38 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 58.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Econometrica (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Income, Poverty, and Inequality
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economic Theory and Policy
- Keywords
- polarization, income distribution, polarization measures, axiomatization, density function, nonparametric inference, inequality, cross-national comparison
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