Construct · 1 fields · 3 citations

Lorenz curve: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone construct Nearest construct by meaningGini coefficientcompare 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 Lorenz curve is Gini coefficient.

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.

Lorenzcurve1 CONSTRUCTLorenz curveLORENZ · INEQUALITY

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Economics and statistics

Cumulative income or wealth share plotted against cumulative population share

The economist Max O. Lorenz introduced the curve in his 1905 paper Methods of measuring the concentration of wealth as a way to picture how unequally income or wealth is spread across a population. It plots the cumulative share of the population, ordered from poorest to richest along the horizontal axis, against the cumulative share of total income or wealth that they hold on the vertical axis, so a society of perfect equality traces the straight 45-degree diagonal and any real distribution bows below it, sagging further the more concentrated the holdings are. Gastwirth (1971) later supplied the general mathematical definition used today, and Atkinson (1970) showed that when one Lorenz curve lies entirely above another it corresponds to an unambiguously more equal distribution under a broad class of welfare judgments. The normalized area between the diagonal of equality and the curve is the Gini coefficient, so the Lorenz curve is the geometric object from which that widely reported inequality index is derived. Its distinctive scope is that it summarizes an entire distribution in a single monotone curve rather than one number, letting the whole pattern of concentration be read and compared at a glance.[1][2][3]

Unit
A curve on the unit square mapping cumulative population share to cumulative income or wealth share, both running from 0 to 1
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Constructed empirically by sorting units from poorest to richest and cumulating their income or wealth shares, typically from survey, tax, or census microdata

Next

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

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

Open in ColliderExport BibTeXReport this entry

Nearby constructs

Gini coefficient1 fields · 3 citationsanchor · a standalone constructdistribution2 fields · 2 citationsjingle · one word, two constructsaxis1 fields · 1 citationsanchor · a standalone construct

References

  1. Lorenz, M. O. (1905). Methods of measuring the concentration of wealth. Publications of the American Statistical Association, 9(70), 209–219. https://doi.org/10.2307/2276207
  2. Gastwirth, J. L. (1971). A general definition of the Lorenz curve. Econometrica, 39(6), 1037–1039. https://doi.org/10.2307/1909675
  3. 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