Definitions for "Lorenz Curve"
The Lorenz Curve, named for Lorenz plots for the group of people who are the lowest i percent of wage earners, the percent of the total income earned in the society by them. If a society were perfectly equitable, then the lowest 20 percent of wage earners should earn 20 percent of the total income. A Lorenz Curve can also be drawn for wealth rather than income. Lorenz curves from different countries at a given time can be used to compare the equity of the distribution of wages in those countries. For one country, drawing two Lorenz curves enables one to determine if things are becoming more or less equitable.
The graphical representation of the level of equality between two sets of data (as in cumulative percentage of population and cumulative percentage of net income). Perfect equality is represented as a 45 degree angle.
A curve showing the percentage of total income received by a given percentage of recipients whose incomes are arranged from smallest to largest.