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Four Approaches for Inequality Comparisons [36] |
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| Concept |
Who/what is reference point? |
Benefits |
Limitations |
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| Relative to average |
The mean inequality of all individuals within a group |
Often the easiest metric to obtain and compare. Can be used for both individual and group vs. group comparisons. |
Group averages can mask important inter- individual inequalities |
| Relative to the best- off |
Experience of the single best-off person in society |
Can identify differences between poorest and richest individuals; easy to quantify for income |
The best-off may not be a realistic equality standard, and the experience of the best off person may be difficult to quantify in a risk context |
| Relative to all those better off |
The range of experiences of all those who are better- off than a given person/group |
Allows a deeper understanding of scope of inequality within a group |
Hard to identify the level at which claims would be deemed unequal |
| Relative to the best- off person whose condition is not anomalous |
Compares individual claims to a determined "good enough" level |
Allows for a more reasonable expectation of equality |
Hard to define "not anomalous" in real-world context |
Levy et al. International Journal for Equity in Health 2006 5:2 doi:10.1186/1475-9276-5-2 |
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