According to the U.S. Census, the median individual yearly income for whites in the United States was $33,808 in 1990, almost three times the median individual yearly income for Hispanics, which was $12,028 for that same year. In 2008, the median income for whites increased to $35,120 and for Hispanics to $16,417.
a. Show how the researcher got the value to be approximately 3, and explain what summary measure is estimated by this value.
b. Calculate the same value as part a for the 2008 numbers.
c. Why do you think the Census Bureau used the median instead of the mean for this comparison?12