The Measurement of Structural Differences between Economies : An Axiomatic Characterization

In empirical studies concerning comparison of economic structures and/or structural changes of economies, it is quite useful to employ an aggregate index to describe the structural difference (similarity). This paper offers an axiomatic characterization of the measurement of structural difference between economies that leads to some difference (similarity) index which is practically useful in empirical studies. Keywords and Phrases: Axiomatic approach, Structural difference (similarity) index, Invariance of proportional sub-classification