These lectures aim to help readers understand the logics and nature of the main indicators of
inequality and poverty with special attention to their social welfare underpinnings. The key
approach consists in linking inequality and poverty measurement with welfare evaluation. As
concern for inequality and poverty stems from ethical considerations the measurement of those
aspects necessarily involves some value judgments. Those value judgments can be linked
directly or indirectly to welfare assessments on the distribution of personal and social
opportunities. Inequality and poverty are thus considered to be partial aspects of the welfare
evaluation of the opportunities in a given society. The volume includes two applications that
illustrate how the models can be implemented. They refer to inequality of opportunity and
poverty in education using PISA data.
