Journal of Economic and Social Measurement - Volume 44, issue 4

Authors: Hlásny, Vladimír

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This study was motivated by reports of a mismatch between inequality experienced on the streets across the Arab region, and that estimated in household expenditure surveys. The study uses eleven surveys from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan and Tunisia to investigate whether the dispersion of top expenditures and measurement errors in them bias the measurement of inequality. The expenditure distributions are corrected by replacing potentially mismeasured values with those drawn from parametric distributions. Across all surveys, expenditure inequality is found to be at or below that found in emerging countries worldwide. The Gini is consistently 0.30–0.32 in Egypt, 0.35–0.37 in Jordan, …and 0.38–0.43 in Palestine, Sudan and Tunisia. Several surveys include outliers raising inequality estimates. The Egyptian, Palestinian, and Tunisian surveys exhibit smoother top tails of expenditures, approximable by parametric distributions. Across years leading up to the Arab Spring, the estimates in these countries show falling inequality, suggesting that data problems are not behind the Arab inequality puzzle. Show more

Keywords: Top expenditures, economic inequality, Pareto law, Arab region

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-200469

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 177-201, 2019

Authors: Campos-Vazquez, Raymundo M. | Lustig, Nora

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: We analyse the evolution and proximate determinants of labour income inequality in Mexico between 1989 and 2017. Labour income inequality increased between 1989 and 1994 and declined between 1994 and 2006. What happened after 2006 is subject to uncertainty. The national labour force survey shows a steady decline and the income expenditure survey suggests that inequality increased. We correct for high and rising item (labour income) non-response and under-representation of high-wage earners through a ‘hot deck’ imputation method and, for workers in the formal sector, through post-survey weight adjustments. We obtain the new weights for formal workers from tabulations recently …released by the Mexican social security administration. With corrected data, inequality no longer declines between 2006 and 2017. Show more

Keywords: Inequality, labour income, post-survey reweighting, imputation, decomposition methods, Mexico

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-200468

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 203-219, 2019

Authors: Nau, Michael | Cohen, Steven B.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This study investigates the extent to which former Medicaid expansion enrollees transition to other forms of health insurance coverage, and whether loss of Medicaid is associated with greater difficulties accessing health care. Findings from a 2018 survey of current and former enrollees in Ohio’s Medicaid expansion program revealed that nearly two-thirds of respondents no longer covered by Medicaid had transitioned to another form of insurance coverage. The most prevalent reason for not having coverage among the remaining one-third was affordability. Former Medicaid enrollees that obtained other sources of coverage also reported greater difficulties accessing health care services than their counterparts …remaining on Medicaid. The prevailing explanation as to the cause of experiencing difficulties in accessing health care was the expense. These findings demonstrate that for former Medicaid enrollees, perceived high costs are a significant barrier to obtaining non-Medicaid coverage and accessing health care services. Show more

Keywords: Medicaid expansion, health insurance coverage, access to care

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-190467

Citation: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 221-228, 2019