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Clusters of attributes and well‐being in the USA
Author(s) -
Hirschberg Joseph G.,
Maasoumi Esfandiar,
Slottje Daniel J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of applied econometrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.878
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1099-1255
pISSN - 0883-7252
DOI - 10.1002/jae.605
Subject(s) - aggregate income , econometrics , cluster analysis , principal component analysis , entropy (arrow of time) , income distribution , aggregate (composite) , economics , per capita income , metric (unit) , welfare , autoregressive integrated moving average , per capita , mathematics , statistics , inequality , time series , operations management , composite material , quantum mechanics , sociology , market economy , mathematical analysis , population , physics , materials science , demography
Using ARIMA models and entropy, the dynamic evolution of several functions of aggregate income and other attributes of well‐being is analysed for statistical ‘similarity’ in order to determine potentially distinct dimensions in multidimensional analysis of welfare and quality of life in the USA. The entropy metric compares entire distributions and is more general than principal components and other correlation‐based techniques for clustering. To help macroeconomic policy makers, we compare the distribution of several composite measures of well‐being which include income, with the distribution of some common measures of aggregate income over the period 1915–1995. Per capita disposable income and growth in GNP are statistically distinct dimensions of well‐being. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.