Top Incomes and the Measurement of Inequality in Egypt

Hlasny, Vladimir; Verme, Paolo

doi:10.1093/wber/lhw031

Publication: Top Incomes and the Measurement of Inequality in Egypt

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Date

2018-06

ISSN

1564-698X

Published

2018-06

Author(s)

Hlasny, Vladimir

Verme, Paolo

Abstract

This study exploits unprecedented access to income data and a combination of newly developed statistical methods to evaluate income inequality in Egypt and test for potential top incomes biases. Income inequality in Egypt is found to be low by regional and world standards; top incomes are found to follow the Pareto distribution and do not show anomalies compared to surveys worldwide. Correcting for top incomes biases increases the Gini coefficient significantly. The magnitude of the upward correction varies between 1.1 and 4.1 percentage points depending on the choice of correction method and welfare measure.

Citation

“Hlasny, Vladimir; Verme, Paolo. 2018. Top Incomes and the Measurement of Inequality in Egypt. World Bank Economic Review. © Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32784 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”