Distributional Inequality in Indian States

Abstract

In regional economic policies, equity issues are usually dealt with at the inter-regional level by concentrating on the disparities between regional mean incomes. This paper looks at an extra dimension of inter-regional disparity, that is the disparity among seventeen regions (Indian states) with regard to intra-state inequality. Variation in intra-state inequalities has been studied by using a parametric measure of the Gini coefficient. The parametric approach has facilitated some further statistical tests on the heterogeneity of the Lorenz curves. Dissimilarity among the states with regard to intra-state distributions has led us to look into rural-urban disparity within the states.