Intermediate inequality and welfare: The case of Spain, 1980-81 to 1990-91

The 1990-91 household expenditures distribution in Spain dominates, in the relative ("rightist") Lorenz sense, the 1980-81 distribution, but the latte r dominates the former in the absolute ("leftist") Lorenz sense. This situa tion constitutes a textbook case for intermediate or "centrist" notions of inequality and social welfare. This paper presents the first empirical appl ication of this sort, using the intermediate inequality concept introduced in Del Rio and Ruiz-Castillo (2000). The data reveal that there is a decrea se in household expenditures inequality for a relatively small set of centr ist attitudes.