Distorted Lorenz curves: models and comparisons

Abstract

The economic literature contains many parametric models for the Lorenz curve. A number of these models can be obtained by distorting an original Lorenz curve $$L$$ by a function $$h$$ , giving rise to a distorted Lorenz curve $${\widetilde{L}}=h\circ L$$ . In this paper, we study, in a unified framework, this family of curves. First, we explore the role of these curves in the context of the axiomatic structure of Aaberge (2001) for orderings on the set of Lorenz curves. Then, we describe some particular models and investigate how changes in the parameters in the baseline Lorenz curve $$L$$ affect the transformed curve $${\widetilde{L}}$$ . Our results are stated in terms of preservation of some stochastic orders between two Lorenz curves when both are distorted by a common function.