Factor Decomposition of Cross-country Income Inequality with Interaction Effects

In this paper we describe a decomposition of the Th eil measures of per capita income inequality which accounts for interaction eff ects between its multiplicative factors. Our theoretical evidence, supported by an empirical application referring to EU-27 countries in the year 2010, suggest that neglecting these eff ects may strongly bias the relative importance of some factors, with consequent misleading policy implications.(original abstract)