Distributional consequences of political representation

Distributional Preferences and Political Behavior∗

We decompose distributional preferences into fair-mindedness (weight on oneself vs. others) and equality-efficiency tradeoffs, and measure both at the individual level in a large and diverse sample of Americans. We find considerable heterogeneity in both the extent of fairmindedness and willingness to trade off equality and efficiency, much of which cannot be explained by standard socioeconomic...

The Political Economy of Distributional Equity

Growing income inequality within a country is caused by socioeconomic factors and inadequate government policies and ultimately leads to social and political instabilities. The ideology of supply-side economics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1980s, for instance, induced policies of inequality which were then perceived as a way to stimulate economic growth. The demise of ...

Political Choice, Public Policy, and Distributional Outcomes

Distributional Preferences and Political Behavior , with Ray

We document the relationship between distributional preferences and voting decisions in a large and diverse sample of Americans. Using a generalized dictator game, we generate individual-level measures of fair-mindedness (weight on oneself versus others) and equality-efficiency tradeoffs. Subjects' equality-efficiency tradeoffs predict their political decisions: equality-focused subjects are mo...

The Distributional Consequences of Government Spending

This paper examines the mechanism through which pro-growth policies such as government spending on infrastructure might a¤ect the dynamics of inequality. We develop a model in which government-provided infrastructure is not only the engine of growth, but also a critical determinant of the distributions of wealth, income, and welfare. Government spending on infrastructure by itself is shown to b...