Income Inequality and Redistributive Government Spending
Electronic Access:
Free Download. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file
Summary:
The paper examines empirically the question of whether more unequal societies spend more on income redistribution than their more egalitarian counterparts. Theoretical arguments on this issue are inconclusive. The political economy literature suggests that redistributive spending is higher in unequal societies due to median voter preferences. Alternatively, it can be argued that unequal societies may spend less on redistribution because of capital market imperfections. Based on different data sources, the cross-country evidence reported in this paper suggests that more unequal societies do spend less on redistribution.
Series:
Working Paper No. 2003/014
Subject:
Expenditure Income distribution Income inequality National accounts Personal income
English
Publication Date:
January 1, 2003
ISBN/ISSN:
9781451843149/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA0142003
Pages:
25
Please address any questions about this title to publications@imf.org