Once more on the Gini coefficient as an indicator of the concentration

This article is a continuation of the discussion that started with the publication in «Voprosy statistiki» of the article «On the use of the Gini index in economic and statistical studies» by G.l. Gromyko, I.N. Matyukhina (issue №9 for 2015) and continued in the issue No. 2 for 2016, with the article by K.P. Gluschenko «On the issue of application of the Gini coefficient and other inequality indices». Both papers expressed opposing views on the application area for the widely recognized Gini coefficient. In the present article the authors include response to critical feedback from the authors of the second article, along with criticism of their main key points. The difference in authors’ approaches manifest in the following issues: application area for the Gini coefficient as a concentration index, directly associated with the Lorenz curve and intended to evaluate the uneven distribution of the studied index by groups; interpretation of «distribution» and «concentration» concepts in statistics; selection of a grouping variable when constructing variational series of distribution; meaningful interpretations of concentration and differentiation (difference) indicators and etc.

кривая Лоренца, коэффициент Джини, индекс концентрации, распределение населения по среднедушевым денежным доходам, распределения и группировки в статистике, средние и относительные величины, показатели дифференциации, Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, concentration index, distribution of population by per capita income, distribution and grouping in statistics, average and relative values, differentiation indicators