Journal of Integer Sequences, Vol. 23 (2020), Article 20.9.7

The Gini Index of an Integer Partition


Grant Kopitzke
Department of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI 53211
USA

Abstract:

The Gini index is a number that attempts to measure how equitably a resource is distributed throughout a population, and is commonly used in economics as a measurement of inequality of wealth or income. The Gini index is often defined as the area between the Lorenz curve of a distribution and the line of equality, normalized to be between zero and one. In this fashion, we define a Gini index on the set of integer partitions and show that it is closely related to the second elementary symmetric polynomial, and the dominance order on partitions. We conclude with a generating function for the Gini index, and discuss how it can be used to find lower bounds on the width of the dominance lattice.


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(Concerned with sequences A076269 A337206.)


Received June 15 2020; revised version received August 19 2020. Published in Journal of Integer Sequences, October 16 2020.


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