Question

do you think that an improvement in eating trends is a better representative of income inequality as oppsed go Gini co-efficient

Answer 1

It shall be noted that I do not think that improvement in the eating trends is a better representative of income inequality as opposed to the Gini coefficient, because, improvement in the eating trends is subjective, different for different caste, creed, color & religion, and is not quantifiable. Improvement in the eating trends can be assessed in the qualitative terms.

The measure of calorie intake does not emphasize on the type of food eaten by the people with the growth in income.

What may appear to be an improvement in eating habits may not correlate with its positive effect on improving the health & life expectancy of the people. There are some flooding habits that grow with income but may end up increasing obesity.

It is also not possible to rank order the eating habits with income growth.

In the context of the Gini coefficient, it is possible to measure the extent of income earned by different deciles of the population, given that people assessed are rank-ordered in terms of their commandment over property, income, and wealth.

Also, it would not be possible to compare income inequality across different countries, given two entirely different eating habits across the comparing countries.

Also, eating habits is highly influenced by culture, tradition, and beliefs rather than income growth.

Thus, a measure of the improvement in eating trends may not be the right substitute for the Gini coefficient for measuring income inequality.