Construct · 2 fields · 2 citations

Where does distribution collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, two constructs Nearest construct by meaningdensitycompare the meanings
How to read this

Every construct on the map is compared with every other by the meaning of its definitions, and the closest one is surfaced here. The nearest construct to distribution is density.

Hold this as a prompt, not a verdict. Two constructs sitting close in meaning is a reason to read them side by side and decide for yourself whether they are one idea under two names. It is not proof that they are. Compare the meanings in the Collider.

distribution2 CONSTRUCTSProb. distributionFELLER · PROBABILITY MASSIncome distributionATKINSON · INCOME SHARE

Spokes are fields; dashed arcs are shared lineage. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

1968Prob. distribution1970Income distribution
2026

Drag to watch the word get claimed. Each field appears at the publication date of the earliest source cited for it. Tap a year to see which.

Statistics and probability

a mathematical object assigning probability to the possible values of a random variable, summarised by quantities like mean and variance.

A mathematical object that assigns probability to the possible values of a random variable, describing how the total probability mass of one is spread across those outcomes: a distribution can be given by a probability function, a density, or a cumulative function, and it is summarised by quantities such as its mean and variance. Feller's 1968 An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications set out how distributions are defined over a sample space and combined. The referent is a formal assignment of probability to outcomes, carrying no units of its own, and it is not a share of income held across people, electricity delivered to homes, or goods moved to a market.[1]

Unit
A mapping from outcomes to probability that sums or integrates to one
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Specified by a probability mass or density function, or estimated from a sample as an empirical distribution and summarised by its moments

Economics

how income or wealth is spread across a population's households or individuals, and how far that departs from equality.

The way income or wealth is spread across the households or individuals in a population, and how far that spread departs from equality: an income distribution is described by the shares held by each part of the population and summarised by inequality measures. Atkinson's 1970 On the Measurement of Inequality showed how such a measure embeds a judgement about the social cost of inequality, and proposed a family of indices built on that judgement. The referent is a social pattern of holdings across people, read in currency and inequality indices, and it is distinct from a probability spread over outcomes, current carried on a grid, or products routed to buyers.[2]

Unit
Shares of income or wealth held across a population, in currency and inequality indices
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Estimated from household surveys and tax records, and summarised by measures such as the Gini coefficient or the Atkinson index

Next

Run it through the Collider, or take the citations with you.

See how distribution sits against neighbouring constructs in the Collider, or export every reference on this page in one click.

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this collision

Nearby collisions

variance4 fields · 6 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsspread5 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, five constructschannel4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Feller, W. (1968). An introduction to probability theory and its applications (Vol. 1, 3rd ed.). Wiley.
  2. Atkinson, A. B. (1970). On the measurement of inequality. Journal of Economic Theory, 2(3), 244–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0531(70)90039-6

Cited on this page?

Confirm your construct, or correct us.

If your work is cited behind one of these entries, you know better than we do whether we captured the meaning right. Confirm it, suggest an edit, or dispute it, and your name goes on the entry as an author who has checked it, linked to your ORCID.

Claim your construct