A distribution-free test for deprivation dominance

The Raw1sian perspective on social policy pays particular attentionto the least advantaged members of society, but how should "the least advantaged" be identified? The concept of deprivation dominance operationalizes in part the Rawlsian evaluation of the welfare of the least advantaged members of society, but a statistical procedure for testing deprivation dominance is needed. In this paper, we construct a new distribution-free test for deprivation dominance and apply i t to Canadian income survey data