As is well known, the use of the Gini coefficient in comparisons is inconsistent with an utilitarian approach. This paper analyzes the Gini coefficient's normative significance in welfare comparisons evaluating income distributions according to Yaari dual social welfare function. When...

We propose a political economy model to explain cross-country differences observed in educational policies and to show how such heterogeneity is associated with the level of a country's development and inequality. Parents, heterogeneous in terms of income and their child's ability, vote over the...