On the Measurement of Polarisation: A Questionnaire Study

64 Pages Posted: 9 Apr 2008

See all articles by Yoram Amiel

Yoram Amiel

Ruppin Academic Center - Department of Economics and Management

Frank Cowell

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD)

Xavier Ramos

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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Date Written: March 2007

Abstract

Starting from the axiomatisation of polarisation contained in Esteban and Ray (1994)and Chakravarty and Majumdar (2001) we investigate whether people's perceptionsof income polarisation is consistent with the key axioms. This is carried out using aquestionnaire-experimental approach that combines both paper questionnaires and onlineinteractive techniques. The responses suggest that important axioms which serveto differentiate polarisation from inequality - e.g. increased bipolarisation - as well asother distinctive features of polarisation, i.e. the non-monotonous behaviour attributedto polarisation, are not widely accepted.

JEL Classification: D63

Suggested Citation

Amiel, Yoram and Cowell, Frank A. and Ramos, Xavier, On the Measurement of Polarisation: A Questionnaire Study (March 2007). LSE STICERD Research Paper No. 90, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1117710

Yoram Amiel (Contact Author)

Ruppin Academic Center - Department of Economics and Management ( email )

Emek Hefer 40250
Israel

Frank A. Cowell

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD) ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
+44 (0)171-955 7277 (Phone)
+44 (0)171-242 2357 (Fax)

Xavier Ramos

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available