On an Extension of the Gini Inequality Index

An attempt is made to explore a parametric variant of the Gini coefficient suggested by Kakwani (1980), who derived it as an extension of Sen's (1976) measure of poverty. By using different assumptions, Donaldson and Weymark (1980, 1981) have suggested the same index. It is shown that this extension has most of the properties of Atkinson's index. Its primary advantage over the latter is that it can be expressed as a function of the Lorenz curve. Consequently, some of the results of economic applications of the Lorenz curve - Kakwani (1977), Jakobsson (1976) - can be easily translated into the parametric Gini index.