The Lorenz Curve, named for Lorenz plots for the group of people who are the lowest i percent of wage earners, the percent of the total income earned in the society by them. If a society were perfectly equitable, then the lowest 20 percent of wage earners should earn 20 percent of the total income. A Lorenz Curve can also be drawn for wealth rather than income. Lorenz curves from different countries at a given time can be used to compare the equity of the distribution of wages in those countries. For one country, drawing two Lorenz curves enables one to determine if things are becoming more or less equitable.
The graphical representation of the level of equality between two sets of data (as in cumulative percentage of population and cumulative percentage of net income). Perfect equality is represented as a 45 degree angle.
A curve showing the percentage of total income received by a given percentage of recipients whose incomes are arranged from smallest to largest.
a curve measuring the degree of inequality of income distribution within a society
A graph which visually presents a measure of the inequality of a nations income distribution.
a diagram showing the cumulative percentage of national income received by a certain percentage of individuals or households
A curve that graphs the cumulative percentage of income (or wealth) against the cumulative percentage of households. The farther the Lorenz curve is from a 45° line, the greater is the inequality. (p. 431)
A curve that plots the cumulative percentage of income or wealth in ascending order against the cumulative percentage of population. Back to the top
a curve that shows the cumulative proportion of income that goes to each cumulative proportion of the population, starting with the lowest income group
A curve showing the cumulative percentage of income plotted against the cumulative percentage of population.
A graphical representation of income distribution and equality. Compares the percentage of income received to the percentage of families receiving that income
A curve that graphs the cumulative percentage of income or wealth against the cumulative percentage of families or population.
The Lorenz curve is a graphical representation of the cumulative distribution function of a probability distribution; it is a graph showing the proportion of the distribution assumed by the bottom y% of the values. It is often used to represent income distribution, where it shows for the bottom x% of households, what percentage y% of the total income they have. The percentage of households is plotted on the x-axis, the percentage of income on the y-axis.