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Relative bipolarisation indices are usually constructed making sure that they achieve their minimum value of bipolarisation if and only if distributions are perfectly egalitarian. However, the literature has neglected discussing the existence of a benchmark of maximum relative bipolarisation. Consequently there is no discussion as to the implications of maximum bipolarisation for the optimal normalisation of relative bipolarisation indices either. In this note we characterize the situation of maximum relative bipolarisation as the only one consistent with the key axioms of relative bipolarisation. We illustrate the usefulness of incorporating the concept of maximum relative bipolarisation in the design of bipolarisation indices by identifying, among the family of rank-dependent Wang–Tsui indices, the only subclass fulfilling a normalisation axiom that takes into account both benchmarks of minimum and maximum relative bipolarisation.

The relative bipolarisation literature features examples of indices which depend on the median of the distribution, including the renowned Foster–Wolfson index. This study shows that the use of the median in the design and computation of relative bipolarisation indices is both unnecessary and problematic. It is unnecessary because we can rely on existing well-behaved, median-independent indices. It is problematic because, as the study shows, median-dependent indices violate the basic transfer axioms of bipolarisation (defining spread and clustering properties), except when the median is unaffected by the transfers. The convenience of discarding the median from index computations is further illustrated with a numerical example in which median-independent indices rank distributions according to the basic transfer axioms while median-dependent indices do not.

Purpose – We propose applying Reardon's approach to the measurement of ordinal segregation to the study of inequality in life chances in the case of ordinal variables. We also propose additional measures of inequality in life chances in such a case.

Methodology – We state the desirable properties of measures of inequality in life chances when the variable under study is ordinal and check which properties are fulfilled by the various indices examined in this chapter.

Findings – All the indices defined in this chapter seem suitable for the analysis of inequality in life chances with ordinal variables but we found some trade-off between indices fulfilling the population composition invariance and those fulfilling the group replication invariance.

Originality – Besides extending the indices suggested by Reardon to the study of inequality of life chances, we propose, to analyze this issue, two additional sets of indices based on the notion of distributional dissimilarity.

We propose a framework for the measurement of income mobility over several time periods, based on the notion that multi-period mobility amounts to measuring the degree of association between the individuals and the time periods. More precisely we compare the actual income share of individuals at a given time in the total income of all individuals over the whole period analyzed, with their “expected” share, assumed to be equal to the hypothetical income share in the total income of society over the whole accounting period that an individual would have had at a given time, had there been complete independence between the individuals and the time periods. We then show that an appropriate way of consistently measuring multi-period mobility should focus on the absolute rather than the traditional (relative) Lorenz curve and that the relevant variable to be accumulated should be the difference between the “a priori” and “a posteriori” shares previously defined. Moving from an ordinal to a cardinal approach to measuring multi-period mobility, we then propose classes of mobility indices based on absolute inequality indices. We illustrate our approach with an empirical application using the EU-SILC rotating panel dataset. Our empirical analysis seems to vindicate our approach because it clearly shows that income mobility was higher in the new EU countries (those that joined the EU in 2004 and later). We also observe that income mobility after 2008 was higher in three countries that were particularly affected by the financial crisis: Greece, Portugal, and Spain.

A number of multidimensional poverty measures that respect the ordinal nature of dimensions have recently been proposed within the counting approach framework. Besides ensuring a reduction in poverty, however, it is important to monitor distributional changes to ensure that poverty reduction has been inclusive in reaching the poorest. Distributional issues are typically captured by adjusting a poverty measure to be sensitive to inequality among the poor. This approach, however, has certain practical and conceptual limitations. It conflicts, for example, with some policy-relevant measurement features, such as the ability to decompose a measure into dimensions post-identification and does not create an appropriate framework for assessing disparity in poverty across population subgroups. In this chapter, we propose and justify the use of a separate decomposable inequality measure – a positive multiple of “variance” – to capture the distribution of deprivations among the poor and to assess disparity in poverty across population subgroups. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach through two contrasting inter-temporal illustrations using Demographic Health Survey data sets for Haiti and India.

Individuals are completely responsible for their outcomes (income, utility, health and so on) and, therefore, total inequality is due to individual responsible choices. This view has been challenged by philosophers and economists for the last three decades since the magnum opus by John Rawls (1971). These authors have argued that individuals are only responsible for their own efforts, and, therefore, people should be compensated for a variety of circumstances beyond their control. The meritocracy approach rejects the existence of circumstances and, in accordance with this, considers that total inequality is due to inequality of effort. On the contrary, the equality of opportunity approach recognizes the existence of factors that affect individuals and over which they have no control. For the former approach, the relevant equilizandum is individual freedom of access to education, positions and jobs. For the latter approach, the relevant equilizandum is the set of available opportunities to acquire those attributes required to compete for a position or job.

The purpose of the paper is to examine the nature and extent of gender and spatial inequalities in educational attainment in Ghana.

The paper uses the education Gini coefficient, computed on the basis of years of schooling of individuals, to assess education inequality in Ghana.

The paper finds evidence of gender and spatial inequality in education in Ghana. In particular, the three northern regions have lower education attainment as well as higher education Gini coefficients compared to the rest of the country. The paper finds evidence of intra‐gender and intra‐spatial inequalities in education attainment in Ghana, with females contributing proportionately more to the within‐inequality component of the education Gini. The paper also finds a positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality.

The research finds a positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality but requires an econometric analysis to make inferences regarding causality.

The findings call for the design and implementation of policies not only to address between‐gender and spatial inequities in education in Ghana, but also to tackle within‐gender and within‐spatial inequalities. The positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality implies the need to create greater equity in educational opportunities across the country.

The need for changes in attitudes, values and cultural practices that put girls at a disadvantage when it comes to education.

One important and new finding of the paper is the existence of intra‐gender and intra‐spatial inequalities in education attainment in Ghana, with females contributing proportionately more to the within‐inequality component of the education Gini.