The concentration index of a binary outcome revisited
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: The binary variable is one of the most common types of variables in the analysis of income-related health inequalities. I argue that while the binary variable has some unusual properties, it shares many of the properties of the ratio-scale variable and hence lends itself to both relative and absolute inequality analyses, albeit with some qualifications. I argue that criticisms of the normalization I proposed in an earlier paper, and of the use of the binary variable for inequality analysis, stem from a misrepresentation of the properties of the binary variable, as well as a switch of focus away from relative inequality to absolute inequality. I concede that my normalization is not uncontentious, but, in a way, that has not previously been noted.
Source: Health Economics
DOI: 10.1002/hec.1752
Author: Adam Wagstaff
Institutions: World Bank, World Bank Group
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1524857468