Research
Research
Hauser, Ignacio (2024). Review of Welfare for Markets: A Global History of Basic Income, by Anton Jäger and Daniel Zamora Vargas. European Journal of the History of Economic Thought 31 (2): 362–365. doi:10.1080/09672567.2024.2363144
Hauser, Ignacio (2023). “Welfare, state, and values: the winding road of the normative approach to inequality measurement (1912–1970).” European Journal of the History of Economic Thought 30 (5): 832–859. doi:10.1080/09672567.2023.2248309
“How inequality measures shape empirical results: Evidence from U.S. states” (with Thérèse Rebière and Isabelle Lebon)
Abstract: This paper examines the technical and public policy implications of using different measures of income inequality, focusing on how the choice of measure may shape both interpretation and policy debate. Using panel data from the American Community Survey (ACS-PUMS) for 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, the paper conducts an econometric study of several inequality measures. It compares differences in inequality levels across U.S. states and assesses how the same set of socioeconomic factors relates to interstate variation in income inequality depending on the measure chosen. The findings reveal, first, substantial inconsistencies in inequality rankings for household income, even though they rely on the same dataset, data treatment, and definitions of income and population. Second, despite the discrepancies inherent to each measure’s view, the results suggest that using multiple measures can reveal valuable information about the factors associated with interstate income inequality, thereby increasing their relevance for informing public policy.
Presented at:
Association for the Development of Research in Economics & Statistics (ADRES) Conference, CES, Paris, January 22, 2026.
Inequality & Policy Research Group Meeting, DSPI, Oxford, June 10, 2024.
London Inequality Network (LIN) Workshop, DSPI, Oxford, May 21, 2024.
Annual Symposium for Early Researchers in Social Policy & Intervention, St Hilda’s College, Oxford, May 17, 2024.
“Revisiting rank reversals in inequality measures” (with Antoinette Baujard)
Abstract: Economists evaluate social states and recommend public policies based on quantitative indicators such as inequality measures. Difficulties arise when different indices (e.g., the Gini coefficient, Atkinson indices, or interdecile ratios) generate contradictory rankings of social states for a given dataset, a phenomenon known as rank reversals. We examine the challenges this poses both for public policy recommendations and for the reliability of the tools and results of economic science. We argue that such contradictions are inevitable and predictable due to the construction of each index, yet not harmless if ignored. Rather than the competitive rationale that often dominates the choice of an inequality measure, we propose two alternatives. First, we propose that rank reversals can be explained by the fact that each index can be expressed as the explicit statement of a specific value judgment. We show that existing techniques can justify this interpretation, including Atkinson’s specification of values over the income distribution and the axiomatic method for identifying value judgments implicit in a measure. Second, drawing on Sen’s positional objectivity approach, we demonstrate that each index functions as a distinct prism through which inequality is seen. Each measure offers an individual perspective on the phenomenon and, despite their conflicts, the plurality of measures allows for a more comprehensive view of inequality. The paper argues that we can make use of the plurality of existing indices, provided that the reasons for selecting a particular measure or the interpretation of all measures are explained transparently. Finally, we argue that our analysis can be extended more generally to any index of social well-being, quality of life, or assessment of social conditions more broadly.
Presented at:
Economics & Philosophy Workshop, Lyon, June 2024.
European Philosophy, Politics, & Economics Network Conference, Warwick, UK, April 2024.
Symposium “Justice and Equality: Theoretical Aspects and Empirical Evidence”, Genoa, October 2023.
6th International Economic Philosophy Conference, Lille, June 2023.
16th International Network for Economic Method (INEM) Conference, Venice, May 2023.