Because finite sample inference for inequality indices based on asymptotic methods or the standard bootstrap does not perform well, Davidson and Flachaire (Journal of Econometrics, 2007) and Cowell and Flachaire (Journal of Econometrics, 2007) proposed inference based on semiparametric methods...

This paper proposes a methodology to incorporate bivariate models in numerical computations of counterfactual distributions. The proposal is to extend the works of Machado and Mata (2005) and Melly (2005) using the grid method to generate pairs of random variables. This contribution allows...

This paper considers the problem of testing a finite number of moment inequalities. We propose a two-step approach. In the first step, a confidence region for the moments is constructed. In the second step, this set is used to provide information about which moments are "negative." A...

This paper develops tests for inequality constraints of nonparametric regression functions. The test statistics involve a one-sided version of Lp-type functionals of kernel estimators. Drawing on the approach of Poissonization, this paper establishes that the tests are asymptotically...

The information contained in PP-plots is transformed into a single number. The resulting Harmonic Mass (HM) index is distribution free and its sample counterpart is shown to be consistent. For a wide class of CDFs the exact analytical expression of the distribution of the sample HM index is...

We provide stylized facts on the evolving shape dynamics of the US personal income distribution from 1962 to 2000. Based on adaptive kernel density estimation, we propose an adaptive bootstrap test for multimodality. Our results indicate that multimodality has been a predominant feature of the...

Standard income inequality indices can be interpreted as a measure of welfare loss entailed in departures from equality of outcomes, for egalitarian social welfare functions defined on the distribution of outcomes. But such a welfare interpretation has been criticized for a long time on the...