It refers to a graphical representation of a cumulative distribution function, which was created based on the Lorenz Curve by the Italian Corrado Gini, generally it is used in order to measure the difference between income within a State However, it can be applied to measure any element with an uneven distribution. It can be said that the Gini coefficient is a number that is between 1 and 0, the latter corresponding to a perfect equality, that is, where everyone receives the same amount of money, while 1 represents a perfect inequality, that is, where one receives all the income and the rest receives nothing.
The Gini index, for its part, refers to the same Gini coefficient but represented based on 100 as the maximum value, unlike the coefficient where 1 is used. Then it is said that a variable of two index units in the Gini coefficient is directly proportional to a distribution of 7 percent of the money of the less favored sectors of the economy, to the wealthiest sectors.
The application of this tool has been very useful in very diverse areas, among which are economics, sociology, chemistry, health sciences, agriculture, engineering, among others. This is frequently used as a tool to measure the difference in wealth. The controversy that exists around the Gini coefficient, this is due to the fact that the value it represents will depend on various elements such as the inequality that exists between the income of a country, also the demographic structure can influence its result. Those countries where they have a high index in the population of elderly people or where, on the contrary, there is a growth in the young population, can also affect the result, even if the distributions of the net income of adult workers remain unchanged, experts in the field have taken on the task of creating different methods in order to calculate the Gini, giving different results with each method applied.
