Social inequality: from data to statistical physics modeling

TL;DR

This paper reviews the origins and measures of social inequality, discussing how statistical physics models can help interpret and reproduce these phenomena across different societal strata.

Contribution

It introduces the application of statistical physics modeling to analyze and interpret various measures of social inequality like Lorenz curve, Gini index, and k index.

Findings

Statistical physics models can effectively reproduce social inequality measures.

Analytical tools aid in understanding the characteristics of social inequality.

The review highlights the interdisciplinary approach to studying social inequality.

Abstract

Social inequality is a topic of interest since ages, and has attracted researchers across disciplines to ponder over it origin, manifestation, characteristics, consequences, and finally, the question of how to cope with it. It is manifested across different strata of human existence, and is quantified in several ways. In this review we discuss the origins of social inequality, the historical and commonly used non-entropic measures such as Lorenz curve, Gini index and the recently introduced $k$ index. We also discuss some analytical tools that aid in understanding and characterizing them. Finally, we argue how statistical physics modeling helps in reproducing the results and interpreting them.