Estimation of Inequality Indices using Parametric Lorenz Curves

In this paper I propose a method for calculating a wide class of inequality indices from parametric approximations of Lorenz curves. This method uses a general approximation first introduced in Rongve and Beach (1997) and is advantageous over previous methods because it is easily calculated, applies top a wide range of inequality indices, and statistical inference on the calculated indices is very easy. An example using Canadian income data illustrates the use of the method.