Statistical Inference and the Sen Index of Poverty
为森提出的对贫困分布敏感的指数及其各组成部分（贫困率、收入缺口比和贫困人口基尼系数）开发了统计推断方法，并用美国官方贫困数据验证了该指数在三个时期均显著上升。
Statistical inference procedures are developed for A. K. Sen's distribution-sensitive index of poverty and each of its components--the headcount ratio, income gap ratio, and the Gini index of the poor. Using results from U-statistics, the authors show that estimates of the index and its components all have a jointly asymptotically normal distribution and the variance-covariance structure can be consistently estimated. The inference tests are illustrated by applying them to the same microeconomic data set used in estimating official U.S. poverty statistics. The application reveals that the Sen index increased significantly in each of the three periods considered. Copyright 1997 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.