Estimating Engel Elasticities with Bootstrap Standard Errors.

The conventional method of estimating Engel elasticities has been to specify a particular functional form for the Engel curve. N. C. Kakwani (1978) introduced a more flexible approach involving indirect estimation of Engel elasticities from Lorenz and concentration curve parameters allowing elasticities to vary monotonically or otherwise with income or total expenditure. But because of the indirect method of estimation, the standard errors of the estimates could not be evaluated through usual statistical procedures. This paper uses a resampling technique to construct estimates of standard errors while retaining the flexible approach for estimating Engel elasticities. Copyright 1988 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd