We consider the problem of targeting benefits when the incomes of families are not accurately observable by the public authorities. By income uncertainty it is meant that the decision-maker cannot ascertain an applicant's income, but that he can assign probabilities with respect to the level of...

An emerging literature in the field of income distribution suggests that inequality may persist in the long run. U.S. father and son income data extracted from the PSID support the hypothesis that the distribution of earnings of children raised in privileged environments welfare-dominates that...

We contrast two approaches to the prediction of latent variables in the model of factor analysis. The likelihood statistic constitutes the set of minimal sufficient statistics for the unobservables when sampling arises from the exponential family of distributions. Linear predictors on the other...

We provide, for the class of relative bidimensional inequality indices, a decomposition of inequality into two univariate Atkinson- Kolm-Sen indices and a third statistic which depends on the joint distribution of resources.

This paper explores the welfare effects of international subsidies designed to expedite the production of global public goods. It distinguishes between the impact subsidies exert on behaviour and the impact subsidies exert on welfare. Subsidies that encourage recipients to contribute to the...

Life-cycle theories emphasize the fact that consumption is allocated intertemporally, on the basis of a long-term concept of resources that differs from household income. Because life-cycle income is unobserved, the distribution of this variable cannot be recovered. It is shown that, within a...

An emerging literature in the field of income distribution suggests that inequality may persist in the long run. U.S. father and son income data extracted from the PSID support the hypothesis that the distribution of earnings of children raised in privileged environments welfare-dominates that...

We study the evolution of earnings inequality in Switzerland during the recession of the 1990s. We compare the Lorenz curves of the 1992 and 1997 distributions, as well as the related generalised Lorenz curves, given the pay deterioration witnessed during this period. The Lorenz curve is shown...

Taking a benchmark scenario, the current situation in Switzerland, and using a microsimulation technique, we compare the effectiveness of various income maintenance schemes for reducing inequality and poverty. A full negative income tax allowance designed to eliminate poverty is shown to reduce...

Because the permanent incomes of parents and children are typically unobservable, the estimation of the intergenerational correlation of incomes is usually carried out via averaging methods or instrumentation. In this paper we take the permanent income of the parent family to be unobserved, but...