The Gini coefficient is based on the sum of pairwise income differences, which can be decomposed into separate sums for individuals. Differences vis-à-vis poorer people represent an individual’s advantage, while those with respect to richer people constitute deprivation. Weighting deprivation...

The Gini coefficient is based on the sum of pairwise income differences. For an individual, differences vis-à-vis poorer people represent advantage, and those versus richer people deprivation. Any weighted average of deprivation and advantage generates a “Gini admissible” personal...

The distributional impacts of replacing an income tax that has graduated marginal rates by a flat tax are complex. Typically the flat tax rate will be less than the top marginal rate under the pre-existing tax, leading to gains for the wealthiest. On the other hand, real-world proposals...