  We present a set of five axioms for fairness measures in resource allocation.
A family of fairness measures satisfying the axioms is constructed. Well-known
notions such as alpha-fairness, Jain's index, and entropy are shown to be
special cases. Properties of fairness measures satisfying the axioms are
proven, including Schur-concavity. Among the engineering implications is a
generalized Jain's index that tunes the resolution of the fairness measure, a
new understanding of alpha-fair utility functions, and an interpretation of
"larger alpha is more fair". We also construct an alternative set of four
axioms to capture efficiency objectives and feasibility constraints.
