An Atkinson-Gini Family of Social Evaluation Functions

We propose a class of social evaluation functions and of inequality indices which merge the useful features of the family of Atkinson (1970) and of S-Gini (Donaldson and Weymark (1980, 1983), Yitzhaki (1983) and Kakwani (1980)) indices. These social evaluation functions can be interpreted as average utility corrected for relative deprivation in individual welfare. They can also be understood as averages of altruistic welfare in the population, and have a simple and useful graphical interpretation.